Loyalty Cards - Do they really work?

Its all about collecting data

I get fuel from Tesco, partly cos its the cheapest and the clubcard points can be redeemed against useful stuff every now and then.

I don't use many, but my BIL always seems to get loads of promotions using different loyalty apps, so I think that on the whole they can work, if you happen to work in a large town and put a bit of legwork in to go to Greggs as opposed to Costa for your lunch (which isn't much legwork TBH).

My data is all over the place, stopped caring years ago.

I have just seen that McDonalds are introducing a loyalty scheme where you get points when you buy McMenu stuff and it made me wonder if these schemes ever really work. I am sure the marketing ghuys think they must but I am not convinced they do anything other than give away our shopping trends.

I think we have Sainsburys (Nectar), Tesco, Waitrose, M&S, Boots and a few other cards but shop in the one because it is the nearest ‘big store’ about a mile away, one because it is the nearest ‘little store’ about 1/4 mile away and the others if it is something specific we need or we pop in while passing.

Would you drive past a Burger King to get to McDonalds, not for the food but fior the points on the card?
Are there any schemes that actually make you more loyal?

I think you misunderstand what "loyalty" cards are for... 😉

I think we have Sainsburys (Nectar), Tesco, Waitrose, M&S, Boots and a few other cards but shop in the one because it is the nearest ‘big store’ about a mile away, one because it is the nearest ‘little store’ about 1/4 mile away and the others if it is something specific we need or we pop in while passing.

I didn't need to know that but more importantly neither do they as the already know.
They know where you live and how far you travel, what times you use which and what you buy at that specific store ... and also what you might buy on impulse.

Also if you drive then Tesco use APNR and bought the DVLA records so they can link to your car as well. (Technically I think Dunhumby purchased on Tesco's behalf)

https://www.dunnhumby.com/case-studies/

Tesco for fuel and groceries.

Use the points for RAC and English Heritage membership, Disney + subscription, Pizza Express and days out at theme parks when on holiday.

We use a tesco points. So far this year, it paid for a weekend away in a 5Star hotel, family visits to varous different "attractions" in London including the Shard (which there would have been no chance of me paying for if i had to pay for it). As well as the Silverstone Museum and various cinema tickets and other "stuff" often at Christmas. usually redeeming at 3x value. Also often reducing £50 bills to under £40 by buying the Clubcard stuff, And most of the points come from the works fuel card. yes its gathering data, and leading you to buy certain products, but they don't own us do they???

Loyalty cards are to collect data on your buying habits.

Apart from the nice little cardboard ones used by small indy cafes who just want you to spend £35 on 10 coffees so you can get one free

They know where you live and how far you travel, what times you use which and what you buy at that specific store … and also what you might buy on impulse.

And how do I miss out or get exploited for this information gathering?

And how do I miss out or get exploited for this information gathering?

Just register for a "loyalty scheme".

I've actually got a whole paper somewhere I used to use often with a few tweaks on "The Value of Data" using Tesco/Dunhumby as one example when Sainsbury's didn't see the point.

More Cash ...

Apart from the nice little cardboard ones used by small indy cafes

and amazingly airlines ones .. which are now worth multiples of the market cap of the airlines.

Didn't Tesco have the first supercomputer in the country to enable it process their loyalty card data? Probably an urban myth.

We've had good deals on Tesco points, paid for theme park entrances when the kids were little, AA membership etc.

Didn’t Tesco have the first supercomputer in the country to enable it process their loyalty card data? Probably an urban myth.

I'm not sure when the Tesco Clubcard was introduced, but the Met Office had a Cray C90 from 1991. 16gb of RAM 31 years ago!

We're Tesco's biatches.

Mind you, they know exactly where we shop - online. So not exactly a stretch to assume they already knew pretty much everything about us anyway.

Points have bought a few Christmas shops, some cheap stuffs, a few overnight hotel stays, and Legoland entry or something like that.

If you're not paying in cash and travelling by foot wearing a baseball cap and a hoodie, half of this stuff is already data they got.

information gathering is really a tiny part of the schemes these days. the vast majority of shopping is done with electric payment methods (which include your name, and a unique number), joining someones customer profile together is pretty easy without a loyalty card.

It used to be the big hitter, now its more about engaging a customer, keeping them coming back to your store instead of someone elses

It used to be the big hitter, now its more about engaging a customer, keeping them coming back to your store instead of someone elses

To some extent this has evolved but then GDPR came along.
Loyalty cards are explicit Opt-in... so the data can be used for the purposes stated.

Using CC data and linking to personal data is between very tricky and impossible to do legally. It's certainly expensive to maintain separation and to prevent data being combined that then personally identifies a customer.

But the flip side is that it's the data that is used for engaging the customer...
Say you pop into the Tesco (insert here) local on the way home and buy some low cost items.. (dunno some onions and tomatoes - if they are still low cost at the moment) then they also get the chance to stick your fav bottle of Chablis/Designer Beer (insert here) they sell in the store you go to at weekend in the fridge by the checkout ... so your £5 shop is now a £20 shop...

I'm not suggesting they do this just for you... but they can spot the people who use the convenience mini-store and correlate to more expensive items that you usually buy elsewhere.
They can't do that using your CC information because they don't have permission.

The Tesco card is almost a requirement if you shop there regularly as there are so many special offers that are Clubcard only.

But the only reason we go to Tesco is that is beside a park so we can walk the dogs at the same time. No dogs and we are Aldi or Lidl. Much cheaper.

Use it for various big shops because the store is near where I run/bike and we get points, so it works. We've used the points to pay for a channel crossing. Got £150+ points sitting as not redeemed for years.

Friend was informed though the M&S one that she was Scotland's No1 buyer of avocado.

I use Nectar and spend the points on PlayStation top up cards. I also use Morrisons too but just so i can get deals, same as M&S.

Not bothered about the data farming as the registered person on the cards doesn’t exist.

Apart from the nice little cardboard ones used by small indy cafes who just want you to spend £35 on 10 coffees so you can get one free

This is me. I figure im going to buy those coffees any way (when in the office) so why not get one free very now and then. Most the coffee shops by me now have phone apps im not fussed about data to be honest who cares your data is constantly collected.

Its all about collecting data

This.
See also why they want to email your receipt these days. They can connect you as a customer in shop with your web activity...

Loyalty cards are to collect data on your buying habits.

There's more money to be made by selling this data than the retailer will lose on any discounts they offer for using loyalty cards, its about profits at the end of the day

See also why they want to email your receipt these days.

This ^^^^^^ also

My Nectar card usually pays out enough to buy some nice bottles of whisky at Christmas.

I only use physical card though, not an app.

Its all about collecting data

Well Blow me down Einstein, why did no one else think about (and worry about) that 😀

"The Tesco card is almost a requirement if you shop there regularly as there are so many special offers that are Clubcard only"

This is a slightly more annoying/worrying trend.

Nectar can have all my fake details along with most of my shopping trends. I spend the points on a Christmas shop and a summer holiday shop.

Accor Hotels on the other hand give me free drinks each stay, room discounts for every stay and "free stuff" via points. I will drive an extra couple of miles to stay in one because of that so I guess that is what counts for them. The fact that I lend my card to others so they can take advantage of the free drinks and discount while racking up my points is just the icing on the cake for me and I can still see the advantage for Accor

I refuse to shop at Tesco now due to their loyalty card pricing.

. the vast majority of shopping is done with electric payment methods (which include your name, and a unique number), joining someones customer profile together is pretty easy without a loyalty card.

The retailer isn't able to gather any personal data from card transactions. What they can do is create a token and then attempt to track that token across their stores to get a picture of spending habits.
But they don't know who you are,unless you also used that payment card online with them or happen to use a loyalty card then they could join the 2 pieces of information up to fill in the gaps. But they have to be very careful about any customer profiling without your consent.

Loyalty is all about collecting data and them using that data to influence your future spending. The value exchange with the customer for that is the incentives they receive for their loyalty, your Clubcard points or Sparks discount.

You can get stuff at Asda card-free for the same price as Clubcard deals at Tesco (Jura whisky...). It's how the latter lock you into shopping there thinking you're getting a good deal.

Can I ask why people are so against having their data collected like what impact does it have on your life?

Would you drive past a Burger King to get to McDonalds

absolutely even if its in the next town. YOU WOULDN'T?!

Can I ask why people are so against having their data collected like what impact does it have on your life?

"we won't pay out on your husbands life insurance, because he clearly had a drink problem look waht he buys in tesco every week"

etc

“we won’t pay out on your husbands life insurance, because he clearly had a drink problem look waht he buys in tesco every week”

So don't buy your insurance from Tesco, or make sure you buy your 'vice' from different places 😉

You can get stuff at Asda card-free for the same price as Clubcard deals at Tesco (Jura whisky…). It’s how the latter lock you into shopping there thinking you’re getting a good deal

Supermarkets check and change prices against their competitors on a daily basis. It's how how they make you think you are getting a good deal (look what this basket would cost at [insert other supermarket brand name here] )

“we won’t pay out on your husbands life insurance, because he clearly had a drink problem look waht he buys in tesco every week”

etc

Are there any case studies that prove that sort of thing though?

Can I ask why people are so against having their data collected like what impact does it have on your life?

Exactly. People seem paranoid about this stuff. It's easy to avoid if you want, but many will get a better experience if they run with it.

Website cookies is another example. Worried about being tracked? Fire up another browser such as Brave. Not worried? Crack on and say yes.

I know of a couple of Nepalese ladies who use their Tesco points to buy gold.
I don't know how but they make enough of an extra percentage to make it worthwhile.
This is in Aldershot to give some perspective to those who know the town and its gold emporia.

It’s well known that Insurers use your loyalty card info rather than autopsy reports which are really bad at spotting alcoholism.

Can I ask why people are so against having their data collected like what impact does it have on your life?

Probably none until they get hacked.
Same as signing up for websites and things, I'm baffled as to why people use genuine info on these things.
For example almost every site I sign up to my name is something like fhkkjh ghkkk, my date of birth is 1 January 2000 and my postcode is that of my old student house from 20yrs ago, since gibberish ones get spotted. (I did use my real name on here but that was many, many years ago when the Internet was still young...)
My insurance Co for example do need my real name so they can have that, but even they have my telephone number as 01233 567890.
Get a card if you want to, but give them some rubbish to enter into their system.

It’s well known that Insurers use your loyalty card info rather than autopsy reports which are really bad at spotting alcoholism.

Exactly. I mean why would they use your medical records when they can see you bought a packet of scampi fires and a bottle Stella on 19th July.

Apart from the nice little cardboard ones used by small indy cafes who just want you to spend £35 on 10 coffees so you can get one free

The pub I used to drink at every Friday and Saturday had a loyalty card system, buy nine pints, get one free. As I drank there anyway, and I still drink at their new pub, but they aren’t doing a card at the moment, I honestly don’t see a downside to the situation.

My insurance Co for example do need my real name so they can have that, but even they have my telephone number as 01233 567890.

They’ll be stuffed if they need to contact you urgently, then. I do hope your bank has a proper phone number…

I swear i wrote a second reply.

For clarity I don't actually think that I was just paraphrasing an oft cited example.

I mean clearly there is potential for it to happen. Theft of poorly stored data is perhaps more of a worry.

In a general non tinfoilyhat pricipal type of a way though, I don't particulalry see WHY they should get to keep hold of information about me and profit from it.

I don't care enough to not want those sweet sweet nectar points though.

My insurance Co for example do need my real name so they can have that, but even they have my telephone number as 01233 567890.

Did you "sign" the agreement that says to the best of my knowledge the information given is correct? If you're worried about supermarket information affecting insurance policies why no concerns about deliberately supplying false information?

My insurance Co for example do need my real name so they can have that, but even they have my telephone number as 01233 567890.

Did you "sign" the agreement that says to the best of my knowledge the information given is correct? If you're worried about supermarket information affecting insurance policies why no concerns about deliberately supplying false information?

The Lidl rewards app thing is quite good at getting me to shop there.

Basically you get a free bakery item when you spend £50 in calendar month, £2 off your next shop when you spend £100 and £10 off for a £200 spend. There are also weekly vouchers that can be quite handy - e.g. 15% off olive oil, 20% off nuts. Can be good for stocking up on non perishables.

Very easy to hit £200 shopping for a family, and it's a genuinely good discount off already low prices

It seems pretty clear from the fact that so few actually answered the question "Do they really work?" and everyone answered their own question about "What do the retailers get from these schemes?" that everyone is fully aware that these are data harvesters.

Now, would you be self-aware enough to sign up to a scheme that was honest about it?

WCA Loyalty Card

Sign up here if you are happy to do nothing and get free points, prizes and price reductions in exchange for us providing a better service.

Or does that burst the reality bubble and make you feel a bit uncomfortable?

Is TopCashback / Quidco a loyalty scheme?

I’ve made loads of money off them, but I don’t have a single loyalty card

The Tesco card is almost a requirement if you shop there regularly as there are so many special offers that are Clubcard only.

And that to me is where they have got you by the gonad’s almost believing that your one ‘bargain’ makes the overall shop value.

IMO all supermarkets are very similarly price over a period of time. They put the bargains in to tempt you to them, but then take it away elsewhere

Wife has Boots and Tesco, and she uses the exact same Boots and Tesco to do the vast amount of her shopping with Boots and Tesco. She buys the same things. month in month out week in week out. Boots you get a penny per point so eventually "free" stuff and clubcard gives you money off your shop which given the foods we tend to buy, aren't often the UHP BOGOFs and multi packs anyway, so don't make a massive difference to the cost. Bought cheap(er) Eurostar to Paris with clubcard points a while back that was quite good value.

Used to have an Avios through Barclaycard , but honestly; trying to figure out what points I had, what I could or couldn't use on what flight by whom started to hurt my head, so i don't really pay much attention to it.

Privacy is a concern but with as all of these, living electronically (ie as a normal person) in a world that has a vast array of wildly more sophisticated tools, the where with all, and desire to make use of them at it's disposal vs my capacity, boredom threshold, requirement for convenience to avoid them....It's an unfair fight. So If Tesco find it interesting that we've swapped from the 450g tub to the 950g tub of Fage yoghurt because the shrink-flation is less, then more power to them.

Or does that burst the reality bubble and make you feel a bit uncomfortable?

Not really it’s just another transaction to be weighed against it’s worth to me. I only have a nectar card, its only there so I can use the hand held scanners and therefore get in and out of the shop with the minimum fuss. I don’t think I’ve ever presented it at a till for any other reason or discount.

We get top see more detail about what you are buying and when so we can make sure we can get the right stuff in the right shops a t he right time to give you a better service.

Presumably as everything is bar coded and scanned they know this from stock control anyway?

Presumably as everything is bar coded and scanned they know this from stock control anyway?

Presumably the clubcard gives them that extra level of detail. The (perhaps apocryphal) story I heard was that in late night opening Tesco they'd put beer next to Pampers on the end of isles The theory was that they'd noticed that it's young men buying nappies at night (through tracking clubcards) as they've been sent out by their partners...So offer them beers at the same time. Apparently worked. Dunno, maybe urban legend.

[i]Presumably the clubcard gives them that extra level of detail. The (perhaps apocryphal) story I heard was that in late night opening Tesco they’d put beer next to Pampers on the end of isles The theory was that they’d noticed that it’s young men buying nappies at night (through tracking clubcards) as they’ve been sent out by their partners…So offer them beers at the same time. Apparently worked. Dunno, maybe urban legend.[/i]

Have I presented to you? I used to use that lots in the past while explaining that it was probably a myth but helped people understand how data mining and slice and dice might actually work.

Dunne's (major supermarket chain) in Ireland has one - every time you spend €25 you get a voucher for €5 off your next €25 shop, or over €50 €10 off your next €50. Crucially, they have a validity period (basically "from tomorrow until next Sunday"), so it locks you in to shopping within that period, and gives you a clear 'discount' for doing so.

Even though you know Tesco is cheaper for most products (and has a wider range), it's tough to tear yourself away from that really obvious loyalty benefit.

Also, Canadians have traditionally been effing mad for loyalty programs; both the meta-loyalty programs (Air Miles and Aeroplan (v similar but Air Canada specific) points would be applied to particular products, like 'buy this this week and get a bonus 10 air miles') and the store-specific such as President's Choice. It looks like loyalty to them is dropping among younger shoppers, but no indication that decreased loyalty will lead to the big store brands actually competing on price.

Or does that burst the reality bubble and make you feel a bit uncomfortable?

No, shops have been doing that for decades. Loyalty cards may give more details but they’re there to entice people back based on offers and shopping habits. Not much different to the huge discounts on certain products, such as Bailey’s at Christmas it’s about pulling in customers.

<em class="bbcode-em">Dunno, maybe urban legend.

The beer and diapers story - explained here and yes, largely a myth; interesting that it's become Tesco rather than Walmart over the many retellings.

Waitrose's loyalty card has introduced an incentive scheme so complicated and difficult to use that we shop there less as a result. When we tried to explain that to them they weren't interested as their loyalty scheme seems to be run by kids who think customer digital engagement with their web presence is more important than selling things. I suspect that will not go well.

Edit: what on earth has gone wrong with this forum software - where did that em class=... stuff come from?

Or does that burst the reality bubble and make you feel a bit uncomfortable?

tbh, if I'd ever read any small print on any loyalty card sign up that is exactly what I'd expect it to say. Doesn't it?

But as said by someone further up the thread - from a data mining perspective, are they really needed anymore? Their own till receipts she what sells with what, where and when. As pretty every transaction is now electronic and most people will use the same payment method time after time you can track that payment methods purchasing history and tie together the till receipts. And then those of us who use delivery or click and collect have a fully fledged account. They know when we assemble the shop, how frequently we add or subtract before the deadline and when are our favourite delivery slots.

Actually, it's the delivery side of things that has kept me loyal to tesco not a loyalty card. Since I moved a couple of years ago tesco is no longer my closest shop. But 'my favourites' etc are well developed and I know my way around the site so my sofa grocery shopping is a slick operation and I cba to start again with Sainsburys.

I work for an organisation that 'owns' one of the largest, if not the largest Loyalty Card in the UK - the internal 'messages' I see are telling us that we see them (and the data collected) is very important, to us 🙂

Also it's worth pointing out that often it's the poorest in society that are the most exposed to data mining. Purchase tracking and loyalty cards are strongly associated with price differentials, the cost of not being tracked or not having a loyalty card can be as much as £30 on a weekly shop.

Being able to determine whether a company gets data from you; like a lot of things, is now a measure of your relative wealth.

A side note - I see that Tesco now do many discounted items that are now 'clubcard price' where they might have been previously just discounted. So if you rocked up without your clubcard (or you were not a tesco frequent flyer and didn't have one) you have to pay the full price. I'de be interested to know if this works. Is the discounted price a loss leader or is there still a profit to made on the discounted price (I'd imagine they lean very heavily on the supplier to get the product at a discounted rate to put on promotion so the 'loss' is shared down the supply chain, not just be the retailer)?

I know the way I'm wired - if I know that the product could be bought at a discount but can't be by me, I see the higher price as a supplement I'm being asked to pay and would refuse to purchase it. It's the same with companies like Alpkit - I know they do 15-20% discounts across the whole range or a subset of products a few times a year. I now see that reduced price as the standard price, and the price the rest of the year as an enhanced price to be avoided at all costs unless truly desperate. I'm currently refusing to buy a One Up tool set for the same reason, because I missed the discount week. If the discount week had not happened I'd be a happy punter paying the full price. It would be interesting to know if the profit margin on the extra impulse purchases at a discounted price balance out against the comungenes like me who alter their purchase history in a negative way.

Tesco Clubcard through our credit card with them, but very rarely shop there now!

Lidl plus card is pretty good, 2, 5 & 10 pound of your shopping after spending 50,100 & 200 with them.
So that 17 quid is pretty much a weekly shop in Lidl.

I refuse to shop at Tesco now due to their loyalty card pricing.

They've just closed the one nearest to me, so I no longer have to worry about that! Was very irritating though and put me off using it.

It would be interesting to know if the profit margin on the extra impulse purchases at a discounted price balance out against the comungenes like me

(disclaimer, I know nothing about how Alpkit arranges it's finances) I wouldn't have thought that forecast EBITDA is based of full RRP of products.

No, shops have been doing that for decades. Loyalty cards may give more details but they’re there to entice people back based on offers and shopping habitsmanipulate shoppers into spending more.

IFTFY! Its OK though, because just like TJ refusing to believe advertising works on him, we are all smarter than the data minining systems used by the supermarkets and we only ever use the scheme's/vouchers/discounts when they are in OUR best interests not the shops. Don't we?

But as said by someone further up the thread – from a data mining perspective, are they really needed anymore? Their own till receipts she what sells with what, where and when. As pretty every transaction is now electronic and most people will use the same payment method time after time you can track that payment methods purchasing history and tie together the till receipts. And then those of us who use delivery or click and collect have a fully fledged account. They know when we assemble the shop, how frequently we add or subtract before the deadline and when are our favourite delivery slots.

And yet, all the supermarkets continue to run these schemes at considerable expense. They aren't stupid - either they aren't able to access the data you think they can from your card payment (and if not why have gov or visa/mastercard etc stopped them? - to protect you!) OR the loyalty card lets them track even more information. e.g. loyalty cards can be linked within a household? what do you not buy on line (if people always forget X, then you want to promote X not just to those who's last minute shop is yours, but to the people who order on line from you but shop in person at a competitor)? Its not just about the aggregate data though its about using that data to manipulate you at an individual level - your vouchers/offers are personalised to you. How would they get those deals to "me" if they didn't have a direct relationship only via my payment card.

But ‘my favourites’ etc are well developed and I know my way around the site so my sofa grocery shopping is a slick operation and I cba to start again with Sainsburys.

If sainsbo's etc were smart they'd develop a tool to go and scrape that information for you and populate their favourites to get you started!

@convert yes waiting for something appearing in a sale is sensible, especially a big purchase.

@Poly ya that’s right you’ve just reworded what I’ve said. Well done.

Ironically TJ’s posting history on here probably gives away far more than a club card could.

Just for total disclosure, I am preparing a presentation on peoples views on loyalty cards and discount schemes and I needed some "Voices of the People" type perspective. I will not be using any names/usernames and very little in terms of direct quotes, but rather using this thread as a source of sentiment regarding data awareness and acceptance of this among consumers.

Used to get stamps for Free Burrito at Mission Burrito.

Works well for them as they can have a higher visitor price(its in Bath a tourist honeypot trap) and still have regular local customers.

mmm the veggie burritos with the hottest sauce are the biz, i prefer them over the meat.

@convert yes waiting for something appearing in a sale is sensible, especially a big purchase.

I guess it is a language thing maybe, but with Alpkit I don't actually see it as the sale price anymore - just the standard price. With the price the rest of the year as a supplement. Maybe it's something specific to Alpkit's way of working. I see a sale as something that gets rid of end of lines and over stocked unpopular products etc - you might get lucky and the thing you want is in the sale and in your size, or you might not. There is an element of perceived luck. With Alpkit you can 100% guarantee the thing you are after will be discounted at various times of year.

Is the discounted price a loss leader or is there still a profit to made on the discounted price (I’d imagine they lean very heavily on the supplier to get the product at a discounted rate to put on promotion so the ‘loss’ is shared down the supply chain, not just be the retailer)?

Be under no illusions, it will be almost unheard of for Tesco to have a loss leader. Their buyers pass that pain all back down the supply chain. Do you want the product in a better place on the shelf? well you need to discount. Do you want it in more stores? well you need to discount. Do you want your version of the product to be cheaper that the competitor? good, we have a special discount you can offer our loyalty card holders... etc.

I know the way I’m wired – if I know that the product could be bought at a discount but can’t be by me, I see the higher price as a supplement I’m being asked to pay and would refuse to purchase it.

Tesco shopping is not quite as discretionary as your alpkit example. You can't just not eat for two weeks to see if the price comes down. I'm pretty sure the tesco "don't use a club card pay a premium" price has come about because of Apple/Google pay. When people opened their wallet to pay its was (near) zero extra effort to swipe a club card and gain some points. When you are tapping your phone/watch it is now a PITA/extra step to get a card either on the phone in their stupid app or physically and so I suspect many casual shoppers have stopped doing it, and tesco needed to find a way to make it worthwhile. Like a substantial saving on something to bring it back to its normal price. I don't know why Tesco don't have the option to keep loyalty card in the Apple Wallet and have it location sensitive so it appears at the top when you walk in the store. It makes me suspect their privacy policies may not be apple-compliant.

[Oh and I don't know how smart Alpkit are - but I suspect they are fine waiting for you to cough up the cash. They know that as soon as they do offer it at a discount that many people like you will snap it up because they don't want to miss out. That lets their sales director manipulate you to buying when he needs it for his quarterly/annual sales target to get his bonus! In reality if you can live without it just now to potentially save 20% one day in the future, you probably don't need it at all and the prudent decision would be to keep the money in your pocket]

I guess it is a language thing maybe, but with Alpkit I don’t actually see it as the sale price anymore – just the standard price. With the price the rest of the year as a supplement.

Rapha ran into this problem. Everyone except the "must have new thing NOW!" people were just waiting for the sales which were at fairly set times of the year so you could plan ahead. And what would happen then is people would buy several sizes and return the ones that didn't fit (leading to more costs of restocking, damaged goods etc) or buy loads and eBay the rest, usually at a profit.

It significantly impacted their bottom line. They do still do sales but not on the same scale that they once did.

Tesco Clubcard prices are sometimes genuinely lower than other places. Current example - Famous Grouse Smoky Black.

Clubcard £15
Asda £19
Morrisons £20.50

Of course there would be nothing stopping Tesco beating other pricing without making it Clubcard only but I guess it's their choice.

We don't buy most of our groceries there because they are not cheap overall.

Supermarket Average basket price Aldi £75.61 Lidl £76.99 Asda £85.22 Tesco £86.63 Sainsbury's £87.24 Morrisons £91.03

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/supermarkets/article/supermarket-price-comparison-aPpYp9j1MFin?utm_source=which&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=text_share - Which?

Rapha ran into this problem.

And what would happen then is people would buy several sizes and return the ones that didn’t fit (leading to more costs of restocking, damaged goods etc)

If they just had consistent sizing they could save a lot - I have to buy 2 or 3 sizes each time as it's completely random whether or not I can fit into it. I wear anything between M and XXL depending on the item. Their latest GTX jackets were a size smaller than their previous version, so I'm now XXL in those, but only L in a jersey..

Maybe it’s something specific to Alpkit’s way of working.

I have it on good authority their sales are mainly initiated to help cashflow, if they have a supplier bill coming due and are a bit short of cash in the bank, they run a quick sale until they have enough. They're not like Tesco etc who have billions on hand and can negotiate very aggressive supplier payment terms.

Anyone remember Green Shield stamps ?
(I remember my parents cashing in multiple books to buy a new iron).

The beer and diapers story – explained here and yes, largely a myth; interesting that it’s become Tesco rather than Walmart over the many retellings.

There are also key points when you swap your shopping habits - so the cards can get target them:

How Target Figured Out A Teen Girl Was Pregnant Before Her Father Did
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/?sh=a2e85b066686

You’d be surprised how effective they are. Forget you own opinion and look at the masses, not the cynical, semi tech savvy forum user.

Where they are managed at their peak I.E data utilised, linked to payments, prompts, targeted offers, altering behaviour to increase average basket value and repeat purchases they increase revenue by up to 44% Vs competitors not running a scheme. Think Nando’s. No from Deloitte so take with a pinch of salt but they do work.

Personally I hate to use them but I am not the target user.

Just for total disclosure, I am preparing a presentation on peoples views on loyalty cards and discount schemes and I needed some “Voices of the People” type perspective. I will not be using any names/usernames and very little in terms of direct quotes, but rather using this thread as a source of sentiment regarding data awareness and acceptance of this among consumers.

You mean... we're being secretly manipulated for our data, in a thread about being secretly manipulated for our data?

I’m not sure when the Tesco Clubcard was introduced, but the Met Office had a Cray C90 from 1991. 16gb of RAM 31 years ago!

I worked on the Clubcard phone lines when it was just launched, it was the mid-90s.

There was no supercomputer in our bit of Old Tesco House, but there was a vending machine that did egg sandwiches.

The idea behind loyalty cards is to increase individual spends. It has been proven to work significantly. Obviously that is done by collection of data and algorithms to inform the retailer in how to make individual nudges through vouchers etc.
It is up to you to decide if they work for you, but they definitely work for the retailers.
eg does your measurable increased spend with McDonalds, save you more over all by spending less elsewhere? Or are you actually spending more overall due to being sucked in by "promotions" etc.

FYI - they collect data on you via your credit/debitcard spends, so without a loylaty card you are still getting probed.

Just for total disclosure, I am preparing a presentation on peoples views on loyalty cards and discount schemes and I needed some “Voices of the People” type perspective.

Oh I forgot to say, loyalty schemes give me the ****ing horn.

Just for total disclosure, I am preparing a presentation on peoples views on loyalty cards and discount schemes and I needed some “Voices of the People” type perspective.

I find they inspire me to commit satanic ritual killing sprees......

Is there a way to put loyalty cards on an iPhone?

That's pretty much all I carry these days. Not that I ever carried loyalty cards anyway - the exception being Coop as it's our local small supermarket which we visit several times a week whenever we're low on something...

Yes.

either with their app or apple wallet.

@Drac

I don't think "entice people back based on offers and shopping habits" actually means the same as "manipulate shoppers into spending more." The former is a friendly, positive message just like calling them loyalty cards (we reward you for being a loyal customer) the latter is more sinister - you give us your data and we will use that data against you, and people like you, to trick you into buying stuff you didn't need or paying more for a perceived higher value product. None of it is done to make your shopping trip more pleasant, cheaper (unless you'd go elsewhere if it wasn't) or more convenient. If 50% of people who buy spaghetti also buy pasta sauce they don't move them beside each other - they move them apart so you also walk past the garlic bread, or the parmesan etc. Unless of course, the data says putting a high price sauce close to the pasta actually sells more of the higher margin product.

Just for total disclosure, I am preparing a presentation on peoples views on loyalty cards and discount schemes and I needed some “Voices of the People” type perspective. I will not be using any names/usernames and very little in terms of direct quotes, but rather using this thread as a source of sentiment regarding data awareness and acceptance of this among consumers.

Is the audience particularly interested in the views of gobby IT managers who ride mountain bikes?

@poly it’s exactly the same. Just it can be more direct by offering free Percy Pigs next time you shop. The other is cheap Baileys so people will be drawn for a bottle, may as well do my shopping too. Oh look bags of Walkers for £1 may as well get 3 packets then