Just need to vent...

I suspect this is more about the advertisers buying lists only of people searching for those generic product classes, and not paying extra for the lists of those who actually bought product (to weed out of targeting). If their surveillance suppliers even have the latter.

The big data surveillance sellers would most certainly charge extra for more finely curated lists of prospects who searched but haven't yet bought, quite possibly more than the wasted cost of sending ads to those already off the market.

 

Often I will put a desired item in the cart and checkout just short of the final click. A few days later a discount shows up in my email.

With Toyota online dealers, shopping multiple dealers results in various prices, some with free shipping. One often sells for 50% msrp but the total discount does not show until the buyer actually starts checking out, typically during one of the nationwide sales. One guy bought a new brake booster during the last Christmas sale for $500 total.

I am not too worried about email spam since I setup rules to dump violators to the Twilight Zone.

 

The on-line industry has long been concerned about these "abandoned carts," considering most of them to be lost sales. I sometimes go that far to see what the added shipping charges might be, and to see if they charge my stiff local sales tax (some still don't), even when unlikely to buy.

It seems this may be a good way to fish for discounts, for those truly interested but patient.

 

Needed some Subaru coolant. Local dealer online $24.xxUSD a gallon. Tried to do an online order to PickUp the next day but they only took PayPal and I do not have PayPal.

Went to dealer next day $31.xxUSD. The lower price was only if I ordered online and then picked it up...
kris

 

Plenty of sellers do that now.

I find the opposite at Costco, in-store prices sometime lower than on-line, even before delivery charges are added. Though others may find different, as Costco in-store prices vary.

 

Confirming - Costco online never seems to beat the brick & mortar prices