Having increased the number of points rewarded for every pound spent on its loyalty card scheme, the company was now reducing it again, Rahul Sharma at Neve Capital told the BBC.

BBC: Tesco profits grow but UK sales subdued

More people in their loyalty card scheme, more information on their shopping habits (but not their browsing habits, we assume), and if the draw of being able to browse Facebook for free during the festive season brings in a few customers, then that all bubbles through to the bottom line.

FORBES: Every Little (Bit of Wi-Fi) Helps The Bottom Line, as Tesco Put Their Customers Online

Its best-known customer (and majority-owner) is Tesco, a British supermarket with a Clubcard loyalty-card scheme that generates a mind-numbing flow of data on the purchases of 13m members across 55, 000 product lines.

ECONOMIST: Algorithms

RFID-based customer-loyalty card, Metro abandoned the scheme under pressure from privacy-rights groups.

ECONOMIST: Wireless technology