Just bought a 2m section of flexible tube for a gas stove, and the sales clerk asked first for my phone number, to which I replied “I don’t have one”. Then she asked me for my name, to which I replied “I’ll pay in cash”. She then insisted it was so “the cashier will call you by name”, to which I replied “I’m not giving you my name, I’ll pay in cash”. [Edit: she apparently got a bit upset when I refused to give info, but ended up entering “no name” according to the receipt]
Am I wrong for not wanting to give personal data for an item paid in cash, in person? No other hardware store ever asks me for my personal info.
If that were the case then they’d be demanding actual ID, not taking your word for it.
More likely: saves on a fight over lost proof of purchase in the event of a return which– if it’s a purchase of hundreds of dollars– makes good sense. Just recite the details you gave and they can probably pull up the receipt.
I don’t know of a single retailer that doesn’t have a POS system, as opposed to the old-fashioned dumb register where totals are entered manually and receipts printed ad-hoc and not saved digitally. I work retail and we used to have a system where if you didn’t print your receipt, it was a huge kerfuffle to get one after the fact. Now it’s as simple as searching the time, date, and register number… details customers obviously don’t always remember themselves so scanning your loyalty card is easier. Which you can of course sign up with under a fake name and mailing address.