So I was right about one thing when I wrote about Duane Reade’s new flex rewards program in January:

Ten bucks a year is below my worth-the-trouble threshold, so I’m
basically done with the rewards card. I wonder how much less I’ll look
to DR as my default convenience store as a result.

Sure enough, I never did activate a new loyalty card. And now, between the changing system and DR’s buyout by Walgreens, I find myself without loyalty to the store in general. Instead, I find myself stopping in the new CVS that opened a block away (closer to my apartment!) instead… and I’ve never enjoyed CVS.

Duane Reade may be making a few more bucks–or, rather, saving them–but I wonder how many of their customers have done the same thing as me.

I just lost a good chunk of my morning to Mint Data, the newly revealed spending database from Mint. Peering into consumer habits is fascinating, but to my retail mind, the store comparisons are the best part.
Of course, Mint’s data is heavily skewed by its demographic. None of the lunching ladies and hedge-fund millionaires are using Mint, so we’re not seeing four-figure steakhouse spends or Madison Avenue purchases in the database.
Still, it’s great fun to compare things like this:

Barneys New York average purchase: $401.11
Saks: $293.76
Bergdorf Goodman: $369.45
Prada: $639.87

If you need me, I’m over here, swimiming in data.