If they were interested in my location they could request location data. What are the odds they are doing this to directly market products to people based on health data?

Inb4 “They already do that based on what you regularly purchase”

Of course, yes they do. This appears to be one more layer on top of it. And surely they wouldn’t share that information with the pharmacy, right?

  • RaoulDook@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    I hate that people just install apps for whatever now. A fucking grocery store app on the phone? What code could the grocery store possibly need to run on my device? For online grocery shopping, just use their website.

    There are zero retail store apps on my phones. I don’t need any store’s app. I get all the discounts I need via the web and paper coupons in the mail.

    • glimse@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      I get all the discounts I need via the web and paper coupons in the mail.

      Well, you wouldn’t get Jewel’s discounts at all then. I stopped shopping there because they switched to app coupons but not everyone has multiple grocery store options

      • RaoulDook@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        I’ve never heard of a Jewel’s grocery store before, so nothing of value is lost to me.

        • glimse@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          I’m just explaining why someone would have a grocery app installed, not trying to talk you into shopping there. They’ve made the store worse in many ways beyond app coupons. Like getting rid of most of generics

    • Alexstarfire@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Generally, I agree. However, websites run like shit when you don’t have great service, say like inside the store and they have no wifi. App runs a lot smoother.

      Why would I do such a thing if I were in the store? Might see if another store nearby has what I’m looking for if they don’t have it. Might be checking to see what aisle something is on because I’ve spent 10 minutes trying to find it on my own and I’m frustrated as hell because I know they have it cause I bough to last time I was there.

      Another reason is because the website is less functional than their mobile website. So if I want to browse sales and make a shopping list while on the couch, it’s far easier to use the app than their website. And a lot of places focus more on apps than mobile websites so this is just going to get more common.

      Though, truth be told. IDK why I ended up getting their app. I really, really, really hate being forced to get apps to do things. Lots of digital tickets are going to app only now: Ticketmaster, airlines, etc. Last time I went to Arby’s they had a sign in the drive thru saying to go to their website to look at coupons. Which then told me to go to their app to see them. Nope, you can fuck off.

      • RaoulDook@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        I’ve never had any of those problems. Apps are not smoother than the web in general, they just are probably better at hiding latency and content loading process.

        Also when I’m inside a grocery store, I don’t need an app or the website to find things since I can just walk over to them or ask an employee where the product is.

        • Alexstarfire@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          The thing about “general” is that means there are exceptions. Also, I pretty much never see employees walking around the store.

    • Lustrate
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      5 months ago

      Our local grocery store chain lets you set up both pick up and delivery orders by selecting items, scheduling, and payment in the app; which is really just a wrapped website. While this might not be your use case; it’s certainly something that can be useful for people that are willing to pay an upcharge for convenience and/or time savings.

      • RaoulDook@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Why not just use their website instead of installing their code on your device? If they are competent their website should have all the above features.

        • Moneo@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          Cause I’d rather open an app then deal with an extra browser tab every time I want to use the site.

          • Tregetour@lemdro.id
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            5 months ago

            An open app simply is another type of browser tab, in my books. From a ‘screen cruft’ perspective I consider them roughly equivalent. At any rate it’s an interesting aspect of software design psychology…

          • RaoulDook@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            “I have sacrificed my privacy for a minor convenience” is another way you could have said that.

            • Moneo@lemmy.world
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              5 months ago

              Yes I find it convenient to press a tile on my home page and have it take me to an app instead of opening a tab in my browser. I’m not sure how this is undesirable.