Except there is absolutely no problem with loyalty programs. There is only a problem with collecting data for loyalty programs. Loyalty programs used to be done with stamps on paper cards, if you had a card full of stamps, you could get a rebate or whatever.
Also, I don't hate them (the ones that collect data, that is) because they push inefficiency onto the customer, but because I have to pay more so other people get paid for helping corporations manipulate me more effectively.
Given how much fraud is happening with customer data (that is: it being acquired under a pretense and then used for a different purpose), I very much doubt it.
> require more physical product be printed, and are less convenient for users than online solutions.
Except that's kinda orthogonal. The paper solution is easier to demonstrate to be free of back doors, but there is no reason why you couldn't build an "online solution" that doesn't do any tracking. You could just hand out random tokens without ever associating them with a transaction, and then accept sets of ten of those to redeem for a rebate, say.
> Given how much fraud is happening with customer data (that is: it being acquired under a pretense and then used for a different purpose), I very much doubt it.
Sorry; I was unclear. More prone to fraud against the loyalty program, i.e. customers buying the appropriate stamp and photocopying a dozen instances of the card to make "every 10th visit" into "every visit."
Also, I don't hate them (the ones that collect data, that is) because they push inefficiency onto the customer, but because I have to pay more so other people get paid for helping corporations manipulate me more effectively.