Moving to Dorset, I still used Sainsburys, and Lidl. I topped up at the M&S foodhall round the corner from home. And I had a Sparks card. Because I liked the free coffee, after my trip to Wimborne Market, I also got a Waitrose card.
But shopping here at Cornerstones, I top up at the Co-op opposite the bus stop in town, so I got a members card, and also loyalty cards from Tesco, Morrisons and Lidl. And I had to get the Iceland card so I could use their OAP 10%Tuesday discount.
That is a lot of cards - I keep them all on my phone on the Stocard app which is very convenient.
I have exchanged my loyalty point for all sorts of things down the years
My Boots points bought me a juicer [that was a waste - we used it all the summer, then gave up, it was too fiddly to clean] and since then the odd packet of paracetamol or bottle of suncream.
Sainsburys points used to be amassed to do my Christmas shop. But I gave up on that one.
Tesco vouchers - because I buy so little there - do not amount to much. I have no idea what I get from sparks, apart from odd bags of Percy Pig sweets which I do not want anyway.
This is all wrong imho! For starters, supermarkets have done this so they can make money by selling the data. And I dare to suggest that the 'card price' is about what it would have been anyway - and the 'regular' price is greatly inflated. The press is full of horror stories along the lines of
"I took my pensioner neighbour to Tesco to do her shopping, it came to over £90. I said 'use your Clubcard, and she didn't have one. When I applied mine, it reduced her bill to less than £45" Not everybody has a loyalty card. Either they don't like 'plastic' - and may even still pay by cash, or they distrust the shop and do not want to give away information about their shopping habits.. Why should they be penalised ?
I resent these shops telling us that these changes are to help the customer. Yes, I know that Tesco and Sainsbury will still give us Clubcard points - and I know families who have saved up and got really good deals - but these tend to be people who have a large weekly shop because they have a family to feed. But bottom line is, these changes represent ways in which the supermarkets can make more money out of us. And I suspect that those on low incomes with a smaller shopping basket will not do so well out of all this.
And as I now have cards for half a dozen or more food shops, I do not feel 'loyal' to any of them!
I was Really Annoyed to get a letter from Co-op this week telling me the Members rewards are changing. I will now get exclusive member prices on food - but also Insurance and Funeralcare "giving you savings on things you need" [It doesn't actually mention anything about data gathering]
I'm old enough to remember my Mum having a "divi number" - her dividend - a share of the profits - which she used to save up and use for her Christmas food spend. The odd 2p I was awarded when buying my milk before getting the bus back to Cornerstones was a weird link to my childhood. I am sure the Rochdale Pioneers are spinning in their graves [bought through Co-op Funeralcare]
Are we being forced into either accepting the cards or paying twice the price? I think this is all wrong!
UPDATE please read the helpful comment from Steph below about the data gathering. She explains why it is not as sinister as some sections of the press make out. And I trust her, she's an expert in this, as well as being my daughter!
Just to add to the discussion here…whilst I completely agree that the way they are forcing shoppers to join the schemes is unfair, it is important to be clear what is happening with the data… the retailers do not (and cannot) pass on anyone’s individual, identifiable information. Instead the data is aggregated so that they can more clearly see what shoppers are buying, and therefore target shoppers with advertising and promotions that are more likely to reflect things they purchase. The alternative is everyone would get the same info, so a retired person might see nappies or a dog owner see cat food. Whilst this might still seem tough when many are struggling with costs and therefore advertising feels like it’s not wanted, it’s important to put it into the broader context- many people work for these big companies, in factories and shops and offices (and the retailers themselves) and if their sales drop, then jobs are lost and/or wages don’t go up and the economy continues to struggle. Again- I fully agree they shouldn’t be forcing customers into loyalty schemes like they are, but don’t agree that data sharing should always be seen as some sort of nasty trickery!
ReplyDeleteThank you Steph for this helpful clarification regarding use of data. You are right, I don't need cheaper nappies or cat food, but I do appreciate money off butter and bacon! I hope the Co-op change in member benefits will reflect shoppers' needs. And I realise that data collection enables shops to better manage stocks, have less wastage, and hopefully, pay their staff properly. I think it is the dual pricing thing that is really annoys me.
DeleteI totally agree-it’s a very unfair system and can’t be accessed by all. Sainbury’s is expensive, we don’t have a Tesco, M and S is food only with awful sell by dates etc etc. I find many organisations sell on our data and you can’t make a charity donation without being plagued for evermore with junk mail/begging letters. (And that includes The National Trust for Scotland) Catriona
ReplyDeleteI agree about the donation thing. If they send a prepaid envelope, I return the letter in it with "please remove me from your mailing list"
DeleteA few years ago I agreed to a small subscription to an animal welfare charity. Just £5 per month. I was immediately bombarded with frequent requests for more money through the post which I imagine cost all of my subscription and the letters including the envelope were covered in horrific images of animal cruelty which were very upsetting. Even if I didn't open them it was impossible to avoid just a glance. It took a lot of persistence to cancel the subscription after which I was pestered with phone calls from the organisation asking why I had cancelled.
DeleteI then did some research which showed that less than 25% of this charity's revenue was actually used for animal welfare projects.
Never again!!
I don't object to aggregate data being sold, but I find it creepy to get an email saying that I was in the top 5% for buying X last year and I really disagree with there being two prices for anything, on principle. I also think that the loyalty cards discriminate against people without internet access as you often need to register online to set them up and collect vouchers.
ReplyDeleteAnd "people without Internet access" are usually the elderly, and those living in poverty.
DeleteThere was a very interesting programme on television last week all about this. I too have Stocard, it saves your bag or purse bulging with all the pieces of plastic and is helpful to me if I visit a shop that I do not shop at on a regular basis. The only actual cards I carry are the Nectar and Booths card, which I use much more often.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd use Booths, if they ever opened a branch in Norfolk. They seem to be a good company
DeleteMy 93yr old Mum just got her first Tesco clubcard! I'm disappointed that my Co-op card only yielded less than £20 in December, even though I sopped there more than the year before, when I had amassed about £35 (used it to pay for Xmas food). I had a laugh in Iceland the other week when I went on the Tuesday to stock up on soap powder. The young lad at the checkout asked me for identification when I produced my bonus card! I said to him, have a look at my face, that there is proof indeed! I wish my optician and dentist had discount schemes!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the fact that he thought you looked too young for the bonus!
DeleteBonus at the optician today! They had a 50% sale off frames (makes a huge difference to the total bill because my prescription is so high). Also, the pair I picked were made of recycled plastic but the best bit was the polarized magnetic sunglasses frame that you just pop on to the frames themselves and hey presto, snazzy new sunglasses!!
DeleteExcellent bargain. Especially with magnetic sunglasses. What a genius idea. I too have costly lenses so have to pick the cheaper frames
Deletehere is my 2 cents from Canada. It is a worldwide technique done by all grocery/store chains. I do agree with what Steph says as well; BUT they do still get it wrong. I collect points here in Canada for many things and one chain despite being one of the biggest retailers in Canada can still get it wrong, and I don't know how many times I get deals for pet food and baby food, despite never buying either thing....LOL At the end of the day, data is being collected on us with everything we do. Whenever I get a donation request in the mail, I scribble over my info and write in marker ,"MOVED ADDRESS UNKNOWN, RETURN TO SENDER." Then pop it back into the mail box.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gill!
DeleteThe two price levels is just wrong. If all these supermarkets can sell items at the lower price for most people they can do it for everyone.
ReplyDeleteIt's simply a trap to encourage people not to shop around, although that in itself is not easy. Going from one supermarket to another just to save a couple of pounds is not practical or even possible for some people, eg if you have to use public transport.
We have Tesco, Lidl and Aldi on adjacent sites - but for many people that's not an option
DeleteWow, your neighbours bill - that was alarming!
ReplyDeleteThanks to Steph for the reassurance about supermarket data collection.
Alison in Wales x
Steph works in branding, and really knows her stuff when it comes to collection and interpretation of data.
DeleteIt would be so much fairer if the supermarkets simply dropped their prices . It seems unfair to see the dual prices on food when it's getting so expensive anyway.
ReplyDeleteYes👍
DeleteGood morning, Angela! Stopping by to say hello. We have those loyalty cards as well and I never use them to their full ability — if I take the time to load their digital coupons onto it it would be more profitable but half the time I don’t really know what I am going to buy so most times they just sit there. I am still liking paper coupons but since nobody takes the newspaper anymore with the Sunday coupon fliers in it, no more paper coupons!
ReplyDeleteHi Melissa, yes, far fewer paper coupons around nowadays. I used to carry a walletful of them when the children were small. It took ages for the girl to ring them all up at the checkout!
DeleteHi Angela, I don't usually comment here, but I just had to tell you that I agree with everything you're saying! I have been grumbling for some time to anyone who will listen (usually my husband!) about the double pricing system in Tesco. I feel it's quite wrong. I use mainly Tesco and Lidl. I do also have the Lidl App, but actually rarely use it since it seems to offer a lot of things which are irrelevent to me. Thanks, Lizzie in Wales.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Lizzie. I'm not sure what benefits I get from the Lidl app, I think I had some free bread rolls once!
DeleteOur stores require us to show an ID ( drivers license) when buying liquor /wine. Recently the main local chain has taken to scanning our drivers licenses which has all kinds of info on. One of my neighbors is refusing to allow this.
ReplyDeleteI am currently having a problem with a loyalty card. So I can't get the weekly special price without a hassle each and every time. I spent hours on the 'phone and in the store trying to sort it out. So frustrating. JanF
How frustrating!
DeleteI now don't use any Loyalty cards anywhere and avoid Tesco as I don't like their double pricing. Luckily I can easily use Asda and Aldi or Morrisons.
ReplyDeleteI don't think east of England Co-op have changed their card policy like National Co-op although I don't get to any of their shops often since moving here.
I notice that East of England Co-op are closing some of their stores. I hope that does not affect your locality.
DeleteI do have one loyalty card, and one membership which depends on my phone number being given at the checkout. I do benefit from that one for groceries from time to time. The main grocery store I detest with a passion, and (cutting off my nose to save my face) I decided I would not sign up because I dislike their aggressive manipulative marketing (almost the entire store consists of multiple pricing) and I don't want them to have access to my shopping data. They make extraordinary profits, while their prices are very high, making it hard for families who have low incomes, especially if their only saving will come by buying 2 or 3 of each item, which of course they can't afford. I now only shop there for things that I can't buy in the other store!
ReplyDeleteMultibuys cause so many problems - I'm concerned that they contribute to food waste
DeleteI have a few store cards that give me discounts and coupons and I use them as needed, although I tend to buy groceries from just one store these days because they offer pick up services. There are some grocery stores here that don't have store cards and they have one price. I used to shop at one before Covid, but, I rarely shop in person, now. I don't really mind about the store keeping track of what I buy and so forth. Maybe it helps them to know what to stock!
ReplyDeleteCovid has changed almost everyone's shopping habits. And it is important for stores to stock the stuff we want to buy
DeleteI know there are many places over here that have loyalty cards, but I happen to live in a loyalty card void: so everyone pays the same high prices. :(
ReplyDeleteIt is tough for so many people when basic items are costly
ReplyDeleteI was annoyed with that in Tesco at Christmas in Hexham as my Loyalty card doesn't seem to work anymore as I hadn't used it for a long while and I do not want new plastic. My solution was to ask the person in the queue behind me if they would like my points. They're always delighted to oblige so I win and they win too! Only one man refused (meanie!) Sadly, my very intelligent BiL didnt think of that one when he was also shopping in there! Kxx
ReplyDeleteIt is so annoying to find your card has been cancelled. I lost out on Morrisons points when the system changed, and I was not living in Norfolk so hadnt been using the card
Delete