Membership Rewards and Club Cards

What's with the idea that if you fill out a free piece of paper at your local grocery/drugstore they will let you get the "discount price"?

Why not just give the discount price to anyone nice enough to shop at your store?

I'll tell you why! Because the grocery store and drugstore chains are united in providing all of us a reason to get anxious on top of the anxiety of spending money that we don't have!

Aren't they great?