Supermarket loyalty schemes compared

Every store in the UK appears to have a loyalty card or system nowadays. However, they are difficult to compare and often changing. Is that intended to confuse people?

Sainsburys made changes to its Nectar scheme in March 2023 and Tesco are due to scrap the triple rewards on 14 June 2023.

Update 29 November 2023 Food price inflation – are supermarkets treating customers fairly? The CMA investigation.

Is it possible to compare prices?

In short, no. See below The issues with comparing loyalty schemes for why not.

Loyalty to a supermarket is reducing as people become more money savvy during the cost of living crisis. People are using price comparison sites such as Trolley.co.uk which will also give you the prices using loyalty apps/cards etc. As people shop around what do you need to know about loyalty schemes?

Tesco

The Clubcard was introduced in February 1995 and is the longest running and most comprehensive loyalty programme.

Collect 1 point for every £1 you spend in-store and online. On fuel, it’s 1 point for every £2 you spend. Until 14 June 2023 when it will be point per 2 litres of fuel.

There are also discounted Clubcard prices for items.

There are a number of “Reward Partners” where you can triple points with £1.50 being valued at £4.50. However, from 14 June 2023, you will no longer be able to triple them up. So spend your vouchers if you can. You will need to look out for when you will need to redeem the reward by. Generally, Clubcard vouchers are valid for two years from date of issue and are accompanied by an expiry date, beyond which they cannot be used or reissued. For example, you have up to a year for the 3 months of Disney subscription.

At the moment Clubcard vouchers can be tripled up to buy Railcards. So, £10 in vouchers will get the £30 year card.

Tesco has the largest selection of offers of all the supermarkets.

Watch out for the expiry on points though.

You can also get Tesco Clubcard Plus which costs £7.99 a month, with a free month’s trial being offered. You get 10% off two shops a month up to £200, so saving a maximum of £40 minus the subscription cost. You are also entitled to 10% off F&F clothing.

Boots

From May 2023 Boots reduced its points scheme from 4 points to 3 points for every £1 spent but also provides a 10% discount on many Boots branded items.

Sainsbury’s

Nectar is the name of the loyalty card for Sainsbury’s and Argos.

Customers receive one point per £1 spent at Sainsbury’s and Argos including fuel. You can also collect points from over 350 partners. After shopping at Sainsbury’s, you might also get offers for your next shop.

When using the app you can receive bonus points to save before purchasing. A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s said “Customers who use the Nectar app collect over 3x more points on average than those who don’t.”

500 points gets you £2.50 which can be spent at Sainsbury’s or reward partners.

You can get 4p in the £1 spending at Just Eat and 6 points in Debenhams or 1 point in the pound for a few other stores/services. Nectar card points.

Customers also receive personalised offers for discounts through the app based on previous purchases.

Asda

Customers using Asda Rewards Apps earn pounds, rather than points, building up a “Cashpot” to spend in store or online.

Not all items are covered. There are 400 plus “star products” across own and branded lines where customers can receive 10% back into their Cashpot. This could be seen as the equivalent of 10 points for every pound spent. However, it is very limited.

There are various other bonuses, such as “Back to School”, where customers receive £5 for spending more than £25 on George school uniforms. This is the equivalent of 20 points per £1 spent.

Morrisons

In May 2023 Morrisons introduced its Morrisons More loyalty scheme. Morrisons says that by swiping the app or using a physical card, customers receive:

• Personalised offers tailored to them which can be used as money-off their next shop.
• Surprises at key dates, e.g. flowers at Mother’s Day
• Basket Bonus – entry to win a ‘bag a bonus’ offer. This could be money off a shop or a Market Street counter treat.

Waitrose

myWaitrose offers customers a selection of vouchers each week. These include savings on customers’ most frequently purchased items alongside targeted recommendations.

Customers also receive free copies of Waitrose & Partners Food and Waitrose & Partners Drinks magazines, 20% off meat and cheese counters every day and the fish counter every Friday. They can also receive a discount on Waitrose Cookery School, dry cleaning from Johnsons the Cleaners, Vitality health or life insurance and up to 25% cashback on foods marked with the “Good Health” logo.

Comparing with other points-based schemes it equates to 20-25 points per £1 but on a limited number of items, meaning the highest discount but one of the smallest ranges.

Lidl

The Lidl Plus app provides customers with rewards and discounts every time they scan their digital card at the till. Each week customers get new single-use coupons to use on their next shop. Customers can also personalise their experience by selecting

Marks and Spencer

Marks and Spencer’s loyalty card is known as Sparks.

Customers receive personalised offers through the Sparks App. Scan the app when you shop to receive more offers. These have included 20% off homeware, £1 off Count on Us meals and a free loaf of bread.

One customer a week in every UK store will win their shopping for free. In 2021, a couple won £3,400 worth of furniture in the Milton Keynes store. Customers can also enter a competition to win Home Nations match tickets and merchandise for customers purchasing Eat Well products.

Regular customers receive “thank you” treats, such as sweets and flowers.

The issues with comparing loyalty schemes

• Some companies have points on everything some have them on some items.
• Some offer discounts on some items
• Some offer bigger discounts on some items
• Some give money, not points
• Some can use the points to spend in store
• Where a loyalty scheme offers a discount on an item, the store does not give the price per weight. For example:

Cathedral Extra mature cheese 350g is £3.25 = £9.29/kg.

Cathedral Extra mature cheese 550g is £5.40 = £9.82/kg.

So you can see that unusually the smaller block is cheaper, but Tesco Clubcard price is £4.00 for the 550g so you have to work out the discounted price on the larger item.

(350g cheese) 1000g * £3.25/350g = £9.29/kg

(550g cheese) 1000g * £5.40/550g = £9.82/kg

Clubcard price (550g cheese) 1000g * £4.00/550g = £7.27/kg

So, the Clubcard makes the more expensive one considerably cheaper than the cheaper price without Clubcard

You have to work this out for every product that compares weight.

Update 09/06/23 Tesco could be breaking the law due to unclear pricing, says Which? Which? suggests that by not providing unit costs of clubcard prices it could be breaking the law, breaching  the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) and calls on Tesco to introduce unit pricing.

Are you loyal to any store because of their loyalty scheme?

How to save money on your grocery shopping

Use cashback sites and apps. JamDoughnut offers prepayment gift cards to use online, in-store or on the phone, and earn reward points. Take out cash after you have received £10 worth in points. You can get from 3% off for Aldi, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco and 4% off Morrisons and Waitrose and up to 6% for Marks and Spencer’ through to 7% off for food delivery companies such as Hello Fresh and between 4% and 10% for take always / deliveries and eating out.

For more see save money on food and How to save money on the grocery shop.

Hear me talk abut the numerous ways on How to save money on the grocery shop on The Complaining Cow Consumer Show.