Friday, September 19, 2014

Kenmore Aggressive Ads and Flawed Algorithms


Recently I needed replacement bags for our Kenmore canister vacuum, and searched for them on the Sears website.  It was very easy to find and purchase them. 

(image credit)

Then, I began to see the following on my social media profiles and other sites  I frequent:

Facebook

Yahoo!

ESPN

ASW Inner Circle

Sportsbreak

Actually, aside from Facebook and ESPN, I don't visit the other sites all that much.  But there you have it.  Very curious, eh.  Evidently Sears has advertising tie-ups with these sites, and their pursuit of me feels more than a tad aggressive.  These are different advertising mechanisms, that is, from Facebook to Yahoo! and Google.

What's worse, I think, is how evidently flawed their algorithms are:  The focus of many of these ads are for vacuum bags.  As every homeowner and housekeeper know, the average residence takes many years to use up on a package of six vacuum bags.  In other words, once we purchase a package, we simply don't need to purchase another one until several years later.   

So why would Sears or Kenmore try to sell me more of the same?  They're definitely on my watch-out list now. 

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