Sainsbury’s is trialling a controversial overhaul of its Nectar scheme that could leave some loyal shoppers, especially older ones, worse off.
Shoppers who sign up to the trial, which launches on the Isle of Wight today, will no longer earn points based on the total amount spent.
Instead, a new smartphone app will track your buying history and suggest Nectar point earning ‘offers’ on the items you buy most regularly.
The shopping giant says the system will better reward loyal shoppers.
It will also allow shoppers to swipe their smartphone instead of a Nectar points card, although cards will still be available.
Sainsbury’s stresses it has yet to decide when or indeed if it will be rolled out to the rest of the UK.
Other Nectar partners, such as Argos and BP, Sainsbury’s Bank credit cards and the value of Nectar points will not be affected.
Certain customers could be worse off
Under the trial, if you simply continue swiping your Nectar card as usual you would likely miss out on points.
While points would continue to be given for your five favourite items, you would miss out on multiple other opportunities to earn Nectar points. This is because you must actively opt in to using the Nectar app on your phone or tablet or via your online login.
This is why we suspect some shoppers will miss out if and when the scheme is rolled out.
Apart from those who simply don’t want to change their Nectar shopping habits, older shoppers would be especially unlikely to actively participate.
After all, 2016 data from telecoms regulator Ofcom suggest almost two-thirds of over 65s don’t even own a smartphone, let alone use apps like Nectar.
Sainsbury’s has said it has set up a helpline so people can sign up to offers over the phone.
We should stress that Sainsbury’s says it is open to changing the new system depending on the results of its Isle of Wight trial, so we might yet see changes.
Do personalised offers work?
It’s not the first time that supermarkets have attempted to personalise rewards, so what makes Sainsbury’s different?
In February, Waitrose dropped its ‘Pick your Own Offers’ scheme, which allowed MyWaitrose customers to save 20% on 10 items a month, which they could select.
Waitrose claimed customers found the scheme confusing and struggled to remember their chosen items, Waitrose.
Perhaps in an attempt to avoid similar issues, Sainsbury’s says its new scheme does the choosing for you, with new offers every Friday based on your most common purchases.
Customers will be able to choose up to five favourite items, so they always earn points on those purchases.
However, whereas Waitrose required shoppers to buy the exact item they had picked to receive a discount, such as 800g of eggs, Sainsbury’s say they will allow for general categories of items, so any egg purchase would be eligible.
Read our guide to the supermarket loyalty schemes and which is the best for you.