1. An apparatus for monitoring purchasing behavior of a consumer, comprising: cash register means for use in a store to place purchase information related to purchases made in the store by the consumer on a machine-readable record; a unit for use in a home of the consumer and having means for reading the purchase information on said machine-readable record and for storing data associated with said purchase information, said home unit including: (a) means for detecting when a predetermined threshold has been reached of a selected category of said data stored in said data storing means, and (b) means coupled to said detecting means for issuing a reward to said consumer when said threshold is reached.