Should We Get Rid of Loyalty Cards?
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Should supermarket loyalty cards be scrapped? 
Which? has raised concerns about pricing practices and potential rip-offs after their latest investigation.
Whatโs your take? 
I saw that. I'm in 2 minds. Loyalty cards are meant to thank customers snd encourage them back but costing them more isn't fair
I loved them even if rewarded with a few points, coupons or vouchers. But the fact some things are 50% cheaper with one is not the best practice in my eyes. It's a shop, the price in the shop should be the price. I don't mind so much if you can 'favourite' a few items and they can reduce the price slightly and for that member but it now seems shocking you seemed to be forced to have one.
No. I think itโs a great thing. Even in the lindt shop, itโs taken me a year or so but I qualified for a free gift, 16 chocolates out of the pick a mix, my son loved this. Itโs just little things like this that please people like me 
I love my loyalty cards, especially my Lidl app. Love getting my freebies and 10% off each month plus the new rewards they have introduced. Love my Tesco clubcard and Boots card too. I would be upset if they got rid of them.
at Lidl a lot too and they always gets free bakery 
items too! I also use my Tesco Clubcard a lot too! Even if itโs a bit of discount off foods items itโs better than nothing! 
to hear!! Well done 
yeah thatโs so true! It does take a while to shop to earn points towards vouchers off your next grocery shopping 
thatโs amazing well done 
cost? Yes thatโs so true! Money can be then saved up to buy another item! Yeah thatโs why I like supermarket loyalty cards not only can you save money but get vouchers off items too 
I suppose if itโs free to join itโs not too bad these days because you can have all the apps on your phone. It does seem like they do inflate prices to then make the member deals look better though.
I love my apps and club cards icelands is good boots is great and I've gotten over ยฃ60 in my asda Christmas fund by using the app I just but the items I normal buy but get money for doing it so I am happy with the cards I use
PhilipMarc yes 
thatโs the same for me to be honest just those two supermarkets that I do a lot of grocery shopping 
! Thereโs no other places with any shopping benefits of discounts. There was Paperchase where when it was your birthday 
you get ยฃ5 voucher to spend no minimum spend. But the shop closed down! 
ah thereโs also the body shop too that has the same birthday treat offer
kitty88uk Just slightly disappointed I'm not given those vouchers when they print the receipt, but I guess it's for dormant customers.
There's also SmartShop discount prices and those are really good. There was a time I didn't know how it worked so I just asked.
PhilipMarc Yeah I know exactly what you mean!! Haha 
lol 
Iโm the same whenever going to Sainsburyโs and pay thereโs no money off vouchers so annoying 
like after all the money I spent on grocery shopping youโd expect at least 1 or 2 but nothing!!
Smart shop again at Sainsburyโs right? How does that work?
kitty88uk Check your Nectar app for the prices, and make note of them (or take a picture if you use a spare phone on the go).
This is how:
1) Tap on the screen to release it from its lock.
2) Scan your Nectar card.
3) As you do your shopping, scan all barcodes.
4) At checkout human/computer, there'll be a QR code to scan and when it's your turn just scan it. Then pay.
I got ยฃ10 credit thanks to the Fruit and Veg challenge as I bought some lettuce and fruit. I'll probably use it soon since Nectar is ditching eBay by the end of August, so it'll go towards grocery shopping.
PhilipMarc I donโt use that option much as I pay by cash lol family uses this one to pay a lot. Had no idea 
and not sure if they know about the challenges. Wow 
ยฃ10 credit amazing well done and thanks 
for sharing about this!
kitty88uk Oh, it's not about paying by cash or card, it's about scanning your Nectar rewards card to gain the discounts.
I'll be going there again tomorrow as I see some pretty decent discounts and it's for items I'd buy anyway.
E.g.:
PhilipMarc ah I thought it was a whole different discount thing lol yeah I already know about using nectar cards lol have been shopping with that supermarket for many many years
Yes do away with them and just offer good value everyday prices and deals without restrictions instore.
and cake 
this was a few years ago and theyโve just stopped it jam45 "Bon Marche"
I thought that had something to do with the massive French grocery stores known as Intermarche. 
That's solely for clothes, heh.
kitty88uk I used to get free tea and cake as well. Firstly, it was monthly, then quarterly and now only if I complain about a John Lewis purchase in writing (a handwritten letter) do I get a free voucher for 2 people!!
I would complain if I was you. Where is my free drink and cake? Fingers cross JL will send you a voucher.
but nothing sometimes they do get a free very small tub of ice cream 
thatโs it 
conversations happy 
to get advice! Hope you have a great weekend! 
I do believe Tesco should be ashamed charging customers without a CLUBCARD full price, itโs morally wrong.
No, in general they are a good thing but I tend to stick to Tesco and Sainsbury's.I have the Boots one and some points to use but I don't fully understand how the points system works.
SueWard yes I agree with you, I also just have those two supermarkets nectar and club card, it helps saves money 
and if not the prices are still expensive I look for an alternative of the supermarkets own branded foods! Only use the cards so I can try out new foods and save money!
I have Boots too but hardly shop there as the the items too Damn expensive and I shop with Superdrug more for toiletries 
as thereโs always offers on there!
I think they should stay as it the shop keeps track of items you buy and gives you extra money discounts and points ( if youโre signed up the nectar)
I would love to keep my loyalty cards as i save my Tesco and Asda vouchers till Christmas which makes a big shop much cheaper at an expensive time of year. I would never pay for a loyalty cards unless it was really worth it.
It would be better if the money it cost to run all the schemes was put into lowering prices altogether.
It makes me laugh that theyโd called loyalty cards, when you have a loyalty card/app for every place in your wallet/phone hardly loyal
The retailers should just offer the best prices/value for money for products. Loyalty cards are just their way or trying to hook you in
I really don't like Which so would take their advice with a pinch of salt. There has been loyalty schemes for a very long time for shops and I'm sure there will be a long time into the future. If you want to shop without a loyalty card then Aldi is the option I guess. I'm not a great fan of Aldi myself but its a shop without a loyalty scheme if you like simple pricing.
BonzoBanana I have been inside different branches of theirs and all I can see is overweight people stocking up on cheap food (the same applies to Lidl customers).
jam45 Often I see a lot of alcohol in the trolleys too. I'm not a drinker myself so I'm clueless about the value of it but suspect its very good pricing. I do see a lot of products in people's trolleys that I have tried and find unacceptably low quality but those people are happy to buy them, garbage processed food etc or low quality parbaked products etc. I don't consider myself too fussy a person when it comes to food but I guess if food quality was from 1 to 5 with 1 being terrible and 5 being fantastic I'm more of a '2' level minimum person but those people are more a '1' level in my opinion.
I love my tesco clubcard = it has earned me over ยฃ300 so far this year and all the cheaper prices too. As long as the shops give full details of the goods and the cards are free to join then I dont see a problem. Most people recognise a a good deal. The idea that supermarkets would just lower their prices if they didnt have loyalty cards is just nonsense
didbygraham Aldi is one of the few profitable supermarkets without huge debts and the only supermarket to not have a loyalty scheme. Tesco, Asda, Lidl UK, Sainsburys and Morrisons all have huge debts although admittedly both Asda and Morrisons are indebted due to the way they were taken over with leveraged buyouts. Of course long term debts do add to pricing as those debts have to be serviced with interest payments. Loyalty schemes do seem to cost supermarket money and I'm not convinced they provide customer loyalty or retention myself. As ever there are those that maximise the savings of loyalty schemes to achieve low pricing. If I go in Sainsburys I'm buying Aldi/Lidl price matched items which are often far superior to the versions at Aldi/Lidl and I'm buying nectar price offers. I don't really buy any high margin non-offer products.
I saw Boots was going to be using customer data for health research which puts me off. However I am a sucker for the Lidl app and itโs bakery roulette spin every time you purchase. I like how you get 10% off voucher if you spend ยฃ250 in a month so it has made me stop going to Aldi and then wait until I get the 10% discount if thereโs something in the middle larger I want to buy. If itโs gone from my local Lidl by the time Iโve got the voucher i find the Lidl nearer a train station tends to have it because people are popping in there and the big items sell more slowly (garden weed burner and tower air fryer are two such items I waited and found doing that)
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