Anticipatory Shipping
People are all up in arms about Google buying Nest and knowing even MORE about you, but don’t forget about Amazon:
Drawing on its massive store of customer data, Amazon plans on shipping you items it thinks you’ll like before you click the purchase button. The company today gained a new patent for “anticipatory shipping,” a system that allows Amazon to send items to shipping hubs in areas where it believes said item will sell well. This new scheme will potentially cut delivery times down, and put the online vendor ahead of its real-world counterparts.
Hey, Amazon, I do want that Rancilio Espresso Machine, but I can’t afford it, so don’t you dare ship it to me.