Serious competition among food retailers has led to competition of loyalty programs. In the postCOVID era, home delivery has become more in demand than ever, leading to a shift in customer priorities. No longer need to choose a store near home or on the way home, so retailers have felt the change in the flow of shoppers. That's why popular supermarkets like Tesco, Sainsbury's and Lidl began offering generous incentives to keep shoppers coming back.
What is a supermarket loyalty card?
The principle of the points loyalty program is the same - registration in the system (at least you will be required to specify your personal phone number, at most - you will need to enter full personal information), and a card (or digital card), with which you can accumulate points with each purchase. The points you accumulate can be exchanged for vouchers that you can spend at the supermarket, or you can just get money at the cash register. In addition, loyalty card points can often be redeemed for better rewards, such as restaurant vouchers or amusement park tickets.
Despite the name "loyalty card," you don't have to be loyal to one supermarket to receive rewards. There are many other benefits to each scheme that earn you coupons and money for your purchases - even if you don't shop every week. In addition, cross-branding programs, where points earned at one store can be spent at another, are gaining popularity.
What are the best-known supermarket loyalty cards?
The best-known loyalty cards belong to three large grocery chains - Tesco, Lidl, Iceland and Sainsbury's Nectar. These supermarkets offer large-scale loyalty programs and provide their customers with the widest range of goods.
Let's try to compare the most popular and advanced grocery loyalty programs to see what the maximum benefits are. Let's take the multi-brand programs Nectar, Tesco Clubcard, Lidl, Boots Advantage and others for comparison.
In Western modern culture, comprehensive loyalty programs that offer customers an entire ecosystem of products, services and interests thrive. Such loyalty schemes are not limited to points only; they can also offer cross-brand discounts and exclusive rewards. However, because of the complexity and variety of offerings, it can be difficult to determine which loyalty programs are really worth using. Let's try to figure out the most in-demand consumer products sector - grocery supermarkets that offer reward points as a loyalty program rewards scheme.
Different schemes allow you to earn different numbers of points. The points, in turn, can be exchanged for a reward. This can be a discount, a coupon for some product, a gift. However, when choosing a benefit, you should consider the original price level in the network, because otherwise the benefit may be imaginary or insignificant.
Below we'll explain how the main loyalty schemes work, calculate how points and rewards add up, and share tips on how to get the most out of loyalty schemes. Loyalty Card Comparison Here we've compared the major loyalty schemes. We didn't include M&S Sparks, Morrisons More and MyWaitrose because they don't offer points. We provide a more detailed description of each scheme below the table.
Sainsbury's Nectar Card
Sainsbury's Nectar Card is an example of a cross-brand loyalty program. The main advantage is that with the Nectar card loyalty programs of several retail chains are available at once and the accumulated points can be exchanged for a wide range of goods and services. Points can be earned in partner stores. A benefit of owning a Nectar card is the ability to use coupons to buy merchandise, and to spend bonuses on eBay purchases.
How to earn and redeem points with the Nectar card?
The Nectar card can be linked to Argos, eBay, Expedia, VUE Cinemas, Dulux Decorator Centre, Viking products, Caffè Nero, Brakes, and you can also earn points by buying Esso fuel. For complete information on point partners, visit the website here:
When you shop in the Sainsbury's supermarket partner network (in store or online) you will earn one point for every £1 you spend. When you redeem your points for rewards the value of 1 point is £0.5. This means that to get the minimum reward of £2.50 you need to earn 500 points, which is £500 to spend.
Asda Christmas Savings
Asda doesn't yet have a full customer loyalty scheme, but it has launched a pilot rewards scheme “Asda Rewards” app through a smartphone app in 16 stores in West Yorkshire and the West Midlands. The company also has a Christmas Savings Card. In the run-up to Christmas, every time you shop, you can add a few pounds to a "savings" account. You'll get £1 if you save £30, £3 if you save £80 and so on, up to a maximum of £15 if you save £280. You can get an Asda Christmas Savings Card at any Asda store or at AsdaGiftCards.com.
Co-op Membership
The Co-operative membership loyalty scheme doesn't give you points. Instead, you get money back on your purchases. 2p of every pound you spend on selected Co-op products and services goes into your Co-op Membership account, and the Co-op donates the same amount to support community organisations and local causes. You can spend your earned rewards on most purchases, not just Co-op products. You can also donate your rewards. There are exclusive offers for Co-op members and individual offers, as well as discounts on Co-op services such as funeral and insurance. Other benefits include the right to vote in the management of the company and the right to claim its profits. Becoming a Co-op member is available at Co-op.co.uk and costs £1. You can buy a Temporary Card at any Coop grocery store for just £1. You must register a new Co-op card within three months or the card will be cancelled.
Iceland Bonus
Iceland Bonus cardholders are rewarded by paying in advance for purchases. For every £20 you accumulate on your Iceland Bonus Card, Iceland adds £1. Plus, you get exclusive shopping offers and a special birthday treat, as well as free delivery on in-store orders over £25 and online orders over £35. Your reward will be credited to your account and you can use it, along with pre-loaded money, to pay for purchases at the Iceland store or The Grocery Store. You can register Iceland Bonus Card and sign up at Iceland.co.uk or in-store.
Lidl Plus
Lidl's loyalty scheme offers exclusive discounts and rewards through the app. You get four weekly coupons for different items, such as 20% on fresh pizza or 15% on crackers and breadcrumbs. Spending £100 in a month gets you £2, and spending £200 or more gets you £10. With every purchase you get a "scratch card" giving you the chance to win up to £20 off your next purchase. There are also discounts from exclusive partners like Sky. You can find out more at Lidl.co.uk.
How do you earn Lidl Plus vouchers?
Each calendar month, you'll have the chance to earn a £2 voucher for spending £100 in-store and an extra £10 voucher for spending an additional £200. To get these, you'll need to reach those spending goals for your shopping each month. On the 30th or 31st of each month, your progress resets and you get the chance to get more vouchers the following month. Earning £2 on a £100 spend is only 2% in rewards, but if you manage to spend £300 in total in any given month, you'll earn an additional £10, which makes a total of 4% back in rewards - the highest of ali the loyalty schemes.
Any extras for owning the Lidl Plus card?
As part of being signed up, you can use digital coupons that can be claimed through the app. These rotate every Thursday and give you a percentage discount on Lidl items. In the past, there have been discounts of up to 20% off sweets, chocolate, cheese, washing powder, and more. It's always worth a look to see what's on offer. If you see a coupon you like, you can add it to your card and you'll receive the discount when scanning your Lidl Plus card at the checkout. You also receive a scratch card each time you shop in-store and scan your card. This gives you the chance to win money off your next shop and you could win up to £20 off with no minimum spend.
Tesco Clubcard
Probably the best-known loyalty card is the Tesco Clubcard. It's free for the first month and you get access to a lot of exclusive Tesco offers including Clubcard deals, personalised coupons, and a trade-up system to make better use of the points you collect. To get Tesco Clubcard you can in two stages. The first stage is a temporary card, the second is the permanent card.
How much Is a Tesco Clubcard point worth?
For every £1 you spend in-store or online at Tesco, you earn 1 Clubcard point. Or, for fuel, it's 1 point for every £2. You can earn Clubcard points for other Tesco products, such as Tesco mobile and credit cards, too. For every point you earn, it's added to your Clubcard balance and you'll be sent vouchers that total the value of points you've collected. The minimum voucher you can get is £1.50, which you'll receive for collecting 150 points. This means at £1 per point, you need to spend £150 to get £1.50 back (around 1% in rewards). You can either spend the vouchers in-store on your everyday shopping or you can hold onto them to get a discount on something else.
What can you trade Tesco Clubcard points for?
Although rewards are only worth 1 % if used on your shopping, there is an option to trade your vouchers up for another retailer. Tesco offers you the chance to trade in money accrued through Clubcard and receive vouchers for restaurants, theme parks, online retailers, and more. Some of the best offers actually triple up your points. For example, 50p in Clubcard points will get you £1.50 to spend at Pizza Express, Cafe Rouge, Bella Italia, and more. You can also exchange your vouchers for theme parks such as Legoland, Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, and Chessington with the same triple value. The more points you have, the more you're able to double or triple up. You can redeem the points in increments so you have more control over your rewards.
Any extras for owning a Tesco Clubcard?
Tesco Clubcard members receive coupons in the post as well as printed in-store coupons to save extra money. These coupons are usually personalised as Tesco tracks what you regularly buy in-store. For example, if you have a cat and keep buying cat food, it might incentivise you to come back by sending you a cat food coupon. You'll also get money-off coupons to use on your next shop and double points coupons on occasions - which, in turn, means you can earn more rewards.
Conclusion
In summary, it can be said that objectively the greatest reward of 4% allows the program Lidl. The most free choice of reward types is provided by Nektar.
It should also be noted that retail chains are constantly adjusting their loyalty programs, so this situation may change.
