Own a bag for life? You’re a safer motorist

YOU can make all sorts of assumptions about a stranger from the contents of their shopping bag.

But what does the carrier itself reveal about them?

It sounds bizarre, but shoppers who buy bags for life are less likely to have road accidents. Customers who use eco-friendly carriers tend to be conscientious, loyal and plan ahead – which suggests they are safer drivers.

The correlation has been revealed by the boss of Sainsbury’s, which collects data on shoppers through its Nectar loyalty card to draw up personality profiles and identify products they might be interested in.

Its computer software is able to cross-match car accident insurance claims against shopping habits. Sainsbury’s chief executive Mike Coupe said it has helped show that motorists who buy its 50p bags for life are safer and less likely to make a claim.

They could therefore qualify for cheaper insurance under policies sold by the supermarket. Details emerged yesterday as Mr Coupe spoke at the Retail Week Live conference in London.

He told the audience: ‘We know that if you buy certain products you are less likely to crash your car, so it means we can offer you a discount. So if you are thinking of renewing your car insur- ance, my advice to you is to go and buy somewhere between ten and 15 Sainsbury’s bags for life because you will get a significant discount, providing you do it reasonably shortly after that.’

He said the information is not available to car insurance comproducts panies, giving the high street grocer a ‘competitive advantage’. Data collected on shoppers by loyalty cards like Nectar and Tesco’s Clubcard are a potential goldmine for retailers, helping stores predict what new might sell well. Now that grocers such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco have expanded into financial services, spending on everyday food items can be used to decide how much they will pay for insurance and other unrelated products.

The idea that customers can be ‘spied on’ may worry some shoppers, however.

But Sainsbury’s insists that the same technology would not be used to increase premiums for drivers who have lots of accidents and also buy a lot of beer, for example.

A spokesman said: ‘This system is always used for the customers benefit. No-one loses out from us using the customer data in this way. Buying bags for life suggests a person is conscientious, loyal and that they plan ahead, which has a correlation with safer driving.

‘We can’t know for a fact that someone buying bags for life is a safe driver, but our data does show a correlation.’ The company also stressed that shopping data is not shared with other firms.

Daniel Nesbitt, of campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: ‘Companies have to be clear about when they collect information and what it is going to be used for. All too often customers are left in the dark about who has their information and what it shows about them.’

‘Conscientious and loyal’