reddit sub will defend this as smart business
It could be considered smart business. Doesn't mean it's ethical business.
This is illegal. Surpasses unethical by a bit I'd say
Depending on the fine, for which we have observed most fines to be too small to deter this behavior. They could just keep doing it and pay the fine once it hits. Really depends on whether or not they are risking it for a small profit.
Sounds like a testable hypothesis, what were your results?
What in the actual fuck? There is zero plausible defense for this. I thought Costco was one of the last few remaining ethical businesses around.
It wouldn't surprise me if no one at Costco realized there was an issue. My guess is Meta (facebook) gives them a widget -- code they don't have to write -- that ties into Costco's website. In exchange, Meta gets to see what poeple are looking at and buying. That's icky but understandable for stuff like snow tires and bacon, but gets super serious when folks buy, say, antipsychotics or abortion pills. Only your doctor and pharmacist should know you're getting those meds.
This makes the most sense to me. I'd bet that some code was applied to their whole site, instead of everything except the pharmacy.
Their website isn't exactly sophisticated, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was a mistake. It still shouldn't have happened.
For fans of Costco