I find it especially creepy when I start checking out as a guest, decide not to proceed (often due to usurious “shipping and handling” charges), and then get an email about my abandoned cart.

I get why companies do this, but IMO if I enter my email address and have not given permission for it to be used except for a given transaction, then it shouldn’t be used at all if the transaction isn’t ratified.

It’s one step removed from tracking character input in a text box and capturing an email address that was subsequently deleted prior to submitting a form.