Crucible is a
geodemography computer system created by the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
-based
grocery company
Tesco
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...
. The system is run by a subsidiary
Dunnhumby. The system collects information from the company's loyalty program, "
Clubcard", as well as aggregating information from other geodemographic databases and other sources. The system has been used to sell customer information to other companies in the UK, leading to accusations in 2005 that the company, with its large share of the UK shopping sector, has become too powerful.
References
Guardian article on Crucible
External links
dunnhumby
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Geodemographic databases
Geographical databases in the United Kingdom
Tesco