In the UK there is a supermarket war against the stores with loyalty cards and the discount stores that offer consistently low prices. The loyalty card schemes no longer are as beneficial as they once were, offering points when you buy certain items or a fixed amount. Unfortunately the points take a while to accumulate and are often not worth it. There is the issue of points expiring as I found mine were and had to find something to buy and also the use of personal data. Many people don't want to share their email or date of birth which is a prerequisite to having a card. I once did a promotion to get people to sign up and many did not want to part with any personal information, even if it saved them money. Which do you prefer, to build up your points for a few extra pence or to have consistent lower prices? Do you agree stores should monitor your shopping habits and sell you products in exchange for a loyalty card?
I think of store-loyalty-programs as 'just something extra to do while you're there.' I.e. I don't shop 'because of' the program; the program's more like 'another sale I find in the store.' That is, "the few extra pence" I save is NOT worth it if I can save "even more extra pence" elsewhere. And can you think of a BETTER way for a store to learn how to serve me better than keeping track of my purchases?
One of the stores I shop at offers a "cents off fuel" program. They just started that last month so I don't know if it will be worthwhile. They offer a discount on food at the store as well, if you have their rewards card. So, it's worth it to me just to save on the groceries. I don't shop there exclusively, though. I search for bargains at all the local stores via their online weekly sale circulars before shopping day and plan my trip accordingly. I love finding a bargain!
I prefer consistent low prices. However, I have found places like this in America don't always carry the variety of products as their more expensive competitors. So I seek a middle ground and use coupons.
There is a Fresh and Easy in California and they use reward cards to track purchases. I have no issue with this since they offer coupons for the items people buy the most. The use of shopping points and coupons are great for the customer but sometimes they don't live up to their name.
I really like Fresh and Easy, but there isn't one near me. I do have a few supermarket loyalty cards in my wallet. I hardly use them anymore because I rarely shop at those stores. I know that they keep track of my purchases, but I was willing to allow that for the savings.
If stores kept low prices and offered coupons and points they would maintain loyalty. I like the sound of Fresh and Easy and will try it if I see a store. The problem in England is that they offer coupons on the expensive brands that have sponsored the coupons, so you don't actually save and buy because you are led to think you are getting an offer. Stop and Shop in New England kept giving me gas points, which was useless as I don't drive, but I signed up for the card to get the discounts in store. I found it bizarre, you had to have a card to buy it a that price which was sometimes $1 cheaper not a few cents. The signs would say ' $2 with card' and underneath in smaller print the actual price without a card.
Some guy I know gave me his store loyalty card so he could get more points if I shopped at the place he used to shop. The problem though is, nearer to where I live, the Mom and Pa shops tend to sell what I buy frequently at almost the same price I'd get the items for at the store which is 5 miles away. I chose instead to buy from the smaller, stores for the convenience because even if I had to go the extra 5 miles, I wouldn't save much. Sometimes, I guess it comes down to what you save rather getting points that you can redeem later while paying slightly higher prices for what you buy.
I never bother with them, I just figure they are a waste of time. Here though, they are a little different. I think you build points and I think you get a few cents off. Like there are 2 prices. A cheaper price you get if you have a card and a more expensive price if you don't have a card.
Store loyalty cards can be great if used intelligently. It is worth it if you shop there consistently anyway, and if you don't change your habits just to better pursue the promotions or discounts. Whenever you present a person with a chance to gain points, it becomes a game, and you can easily get fixated on that game. That makes you forget if what you're doing is really convenient for you! The goal of stores is to affiliate you so much that you'll buy milk there even if it costs 80 cents more than at the next store. Personally I steer clear of two things: cards which offer discounts and promotions only on certain brands, they will invariably be usable with expensive brands that you wouldn't have considered in the first place, and those few cents you save were not actually saved; cards whose points award you gifts, it is always stuff you didn't know you needed until you saw it in the rewards list!
Our local grocery chain, Giant Eagle, has been doing this for decades with their loyalty program. They have a separate convenience store/gas station called GetGo in front of each of their locations (well, most of them anyway). You earn points shopping, then can use them for discounts on your gas. The caveat is that you only get the discounts on gas at the GetGo locations, and if you don't cash in your points from time to time, they disappear off your account. I've been arguing with my folks about this for years that it was not worth it, since their stores prices are always higher to begin with, but they are obsessed with getting points on their cards. Back in the 90's when gas was way cheaper, like around $1-something a gallon, you could theoretically fill your car up for "free" every once in a while by accumulating so many points. But that novelty wore off now that gas prices climbed up so high. I've heard some arguments that it's time to upgrade these programs to simply just work with smartphones - the whole scanning a card thing is way too antiquated. Often times we lose the cards, or they get so worn out they fall off our keychains and such. Plus, if they started working with our smartphones, it would be easier for us to see how many points we've accumulated and what we can redeem them for. These cards theoretically should be saving us money since they help the store keep track of our shopping habits so it can decide what products to stock the shelves with and what to market to us and when. But I think in most cases, they are just pocketing most of the savings benefits they are getting from these rather than passing them all along to the consumer. If I have to spend several hundred dollars just to get 20 cents off a gallon of gas, it's not really worth it.
