Free tea and cake with the new John Lewis loyalty scheme
John Lewis is to offer customers a membership programme from the end of the month, with rewards including free tea and cake!
John Lewis is launching a customer loyalty scheme which rewards shoppers with perks such as free tea and cake in its restaurants.
The company soft-trialled the scheme last summer. It will go live across all 39 John Lewis shops and online on 30th October.
It will for the first time give the company information about customer spending habits, which it says will be used to create tailored customer discounts and offers.
My John Lewis
John Lewis shoppers using the ‘my John Lewis’ scheme will not only get free tea and cake once a month, but also entry into prize draws, invitations to exclusive local events and other "personalised incentives".
From the launch date shoppers can join for free at the website and the loyalty card can be used when shopping in a branch or online.
“We consciously decided not to develop a scheme based on collecting points, and instead offer more immediate rewards, previews and events so that customers can experience the benefits of membership straight away,” explained Chris Bates, head of customer marketing for John Lewis.
“It will also get better over time, as the more we learn about customers, the more we can personalise the experience we give them,” he added.
This is the first time the employee-owned chain has started tracking customer spending in return for freebies and rewards.
The fact it doesn’t offer money off or reward points, as similar schemes such as Nectar do, shows how it’s been clearly tailored for John Lewis customers. Instead of these benefits it instead offers an air of exclusivity through access to preview events. If you’re a regular customer at the brand it is a nice perk to have, although it won’t actually save you any money.
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Supermarket loyalty schemes
Most leading brands have loyalty schemes such as Boots, Superdrug, Amazon and The Co-operative.
Nectar is one of the most well-known. There are numerous retailers on board such as Sainsbury’s, Oxfam, Hertz and Homebase and you’ll earn points every time you use a Nectar card. These can then be redeemed against future purchases or exchanged for anything from Easyjet flights to Café Rouge vouchers.
The Tesco Clubcard scheme works in a similar way. It pays out one point per £1 spent in store, online and at Tesco Direct and these can again be redeemed against Tesco shopping or for leisure vouchers at brands such as Hilton and Avios.
Our article The top loyalty schemes for shoppers has the full run down.
Reward credit cards
Using a reward or a cashback credit card is another easy way to earn a little bit extra on your normal spending.
These will pay out – either in cash or rewards, such as Avios – every time you use them. The American Express Platinum Cashback Everyday card, for example, pays out 5% cashback on £2,000 in the first three months of opening.
One of the best reward cards is the Tesco Clubcard Credit Card for Purchases. Shoppers earn one Clubcard point for every £4 spend and five points for every £4 spent in a Tesco store.
The best way to take full advantage of these cards is to set up a standing order to clear the card each month. That way you’ll be able to earn rewards without paying interest or going into debt.
Compare rewards credit cards with lovemoney.com
More on shopping:
The danger of 'buy now, pay later' shopping
New ways to earn more Nectar points fast
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