Concerns Over Grocery Store Robots

One Community Member’s Take

I read about the googly eyed robots in the Stop and Shop stores in Northampton and was writing out my complaint about them in the King Street store when I turned around and there was one of the robots staring at me!  I went back to finishing the letter to the manager of the S&S in Northampton and turned back around to find it still staring at me.  I felt the need to pull my hood over my head, gave the woman the letter and walked out the door.  It gave me the creeps!

I believe the reason why we are being tracked in retail stores, grocery stores in particular, is they want to sell us more product.  Walmart, Walgreens and Krogers all have eye reading devices which will tell you how the person is feeling.  If you are feeling vulnerable, they will bring certain items to the check out for you in case you want to buy it at the cashier you are with.

This is the reason why I love coops.  In a coop, you won’t be tracked, or marketed to.  You won’t have coupons delivered to your email inbox to try to sell you more products you don’t want or need.  I love the freedom I feel when shopping at the coop.  I can make my own decisions and I feel powerful doing so.

I also shop at a coop to boycott places like Stop and Shop, for example.  I love buying locally grown foods where it is a priority for the store to buy from local growers – a coop.  I have a say as to what the store buys and who from.  At a large store chain such as Stop and Shop, I don’t have that say.

-Carrie West

This article was written by Member-Owner Carrie West