Independent retailers look to loyalty schemes to keep up with supermarkets
Posted on in Business News
Independent retailers are racing to keep up with rivals and retain customers as the battle for loyalty intensifies among supermarkets.
Last month, Co-op announced it was following Tesco and Sainsbury’s by introducing lower prices exclusively for members of its loyalty programme. Last year, Tesco saw a huge uptake of its Clubcard, and Sainsbury’s recently refreshed its Nectar Prices scheme.
Speaking at the ACS Conference in Birmingham last week, PwC’s head of consumer markets, Lisa Hooker, urged convenience stores to prioritise delivering loyalty locally now, “to retain and engage customers” in a “difficult economic environment”.
Speaking to Better Retailing, Mandeep Singh, owner of Premier Singhs in Sheffield, introduced a coffee loyalty scheme in his store two years ago to compete with Tesco.
“Usually, we charge £1.49 for a coffee, but with the card it’s £1. We give away a barcoded card that we scan every time they make the purchase. We’ve gone from selling virtually zero cups a week to 700. It doesn’t have to be complex. Let someone else be first and adapt it yourself second.”
Mo Razzaq, owner of Premier Mo’s in Blantyre in Glasgow, is also in the process of relaunching his own scheme, which uses a QR code giving customers the chance to earn money off their shop every time it is scanned.
Several convenience specific programmes have been created in the past year by providers helping to give retailers a head start.
Ian Hepworth, Managing Director of Jisp Rewards, which launched last year, said:
“80% of UK shoppers now regularly use a smartphone loyalty rewards or voucher redemption service and this has been driven by the cost-of-living crisis placing greater stress on shoppers’ budgets, with consumers sighting rising grocery prices as the second biggest concern after energy costs.”
He added that programmes like this “help increase brand awareness, as customers are reminded of the retailer’s brand every time they use a card”.