Loyalty Schemes - are they effective?

[KEEP_ON_TRUCKIN]

So what Loyalty schemes are you involved in ?

Do you think they are effective at retaining your loyalty to a particular store or brand?

Do you think they are a benefit to the customer?

personally I have tesco clubcard - apart from my meat and veg that's where I do most of my food shopping therefor it's senseless not to have the card- but often the coupons sent trying to lure me to try new products I don't use. I read somewhere earlier about they strategy is to send you 4 coupons for products you already have bought or buy and 2 for items they are keen for you to try.

I have nectar - which i've had for about 10 years - I have 21000 points i've never redeemed any - but that only gives me £102 worth of rewards to i'm just letting it sit until there's something I really want - but most of the time I forget where you can collect the points and don't have it on me at Homebase......

I use quidco online as a money back scheme and have had £400 back over 18 months - so online that's the way I choose to shop - through stores on that scheme if possible.

For the smaller retailers i don't have any cards...or a hairdresser but then I don't go to the hairdresser that much.

Your thoughts PLEASE!!

[Kevin Milkins]

I have been following the progress of this company and they seem to do what it says on the tin, they also cover business utility as well. I may give them a go when my mobile is out of contract.
Residential Utilities (http://www.google.co.uk/aclk?sa=L&ai=CNmAoUTJ0TcbuDtK4hQfxqejzD5_u4PABt73h6CSKg5M7CA AQASDtit8GKAJQmb2Ftgdgu76ug9AKyAEBqQJ5eiDPeUi7PqoE HE_Q8bvRjtRiKEf9VIK3KHnbXLDxQB9IiG7tuWOABZBO&sig=AGiWqtzZiwuezhFOP_2_efwSAt6EqOF_QQ&adurl=https://www.utilitywarehouse.co.uk/home/index.taf%3Fexref%3DB51657)

[annemarie482]

ok lets just say if i go to buy a tv,

and argos and tesco have it at the same price,
i buy it from tesco.
purely because at the end of the year when i get my tokens, i'm getting some money back from my purchase to spend :o)

[Dadie]

Tesco clubcard, CO-OP dividend card, those wee cardboard things for stamping for coffee in debenhams, costa coffee etc, debenhams card...used once and only once.
I dont buy something for the sake of points or a free coffee.
Im not loyal to any shop and shop where its more beneficial to me!
But if I collect points/money back/free coffee on the way its a bonus!

[lindsaymcc]

I have a Tesco Clubcard, and love getting my vouchers back, especially if there is something on the rewards page where I can triple the value. Last year, when they were 4 x the value, we had a 4 night holiday at Park Resorts site and we only had to pay £30 as the rest was covered by clubcard vouchers. We wouldnt have had a holiday otherwise.
I also have a Tesco PAYG mobile, and get 30 points for every £10 I top up, so it all adds up!

I dont have a co-op card as I rarely shop there, and I barely use Homebase either, so a Nectar card is useless.

Im with the previous poster, If I can get something the same price in Tesco than I can elsewhere, I will use Tesco so I get the points!

[orkneycadian]

Being an avoider of Tesco like the plague, this (http://www.giddy-limit.com/Year4Archive/no.168.html) is more the kind of reward scheme that I see most of! ;)

[gerry4]

they are very effective here. I have 2 loyalty cards, the Co-op & Tesco and I always shop there

[KEEP_ON_TRUCKIN]

Being an avoider of Tesco like the plague, this (http://www.giddy-limit.com/Year4Archive/no.168.html) is more the kind of reward scheme that I see most of! ;)

Oh my goodness that is HILARIOUS!!!! Exactly the ethos of some shops round and about!!


What about local stores or hairdressers ? Anyone use their loyalty schemes?

I'm being a bit sneaky on this thread trying to find what people actually like about their loyalty scheme as i'm trying to develop one for the shop - but there's no point doing one that suits me - it's got to be beneficial to the customer too.

[KEEP_ON_TRUCKIN]

Tesco clubcard, CO-OP dividend card, those wee cardboard things for stamping for coffee in debenhams, costa coffee etc, debenhams card...used once and only once.
I dont buy something for the sake of points or a free coffee.
Im not loyal to any shop and shop where its more beneficial to me!
But if I collect points/money back/free coffee on the way its a bonus!

Yeah that's a bit like me - especially with nectar - just hope I mind to use the rewards before they cancel the scheme or something haha!

[Dadie]

Some smaller shops have a card that you get stamped when you spend a tenner etc..and when you get 5 or 10 stamps you get £10 or to spend in the shop or x% off your next buy.
They are ok but if I dont put it in my purse straight away for safekeeping it is either lost or it goes in the pile of lost things from pockets in the bathroom or through the washing machine.
As for hairdressers, I havent heard of any that have loyalty cards....maybe its because once you find a hairdresser you like, you keep going back as you dont want to go through the scary will I like it or not 1st cut!

[The Music Monster]

I have to admit, I have none. I did used to but I kept forgetting which card to take when and eventually I just packed the whole lot in. Having said that, it guarantees custom when people feel they will get something back, maybe not from every loyalty card you give out but certainly a decent percentage.

Good luck with your's!!!

[Geo]

I have been following the progress of this company and they seem to do what it says on the tin, they also cover business utility as well. I may give them a go when my mobile is out of contract.
[URL="http://www.utilitywarehouse.co.uk]

They don't seem that cheap. You would probably get a better deal shopping around depending on what you want from your mobile of course.

[theone]

Are loyalty schemes effective?

I'm not sure, I have a clubcard but it wouldn't stop me shopping elsewhere if we had a choice.

The important thing to remember is that many of these schemes, such as the Tesco clubcard, are not necessarily "loyalty schemes" at all.

Every time you use your card, Tesco know what you've bought, where, and when. They know your age, address and any other information given on the clubcard application. That sort of information is very valuable to Tesco. That sort of marketing info would cost a fortune to collect in more traditional ways, and probably wouldn't be as accurate.

Tesco can then use that information to adapt their business to maximise maximum profit.

I'm happy to use the clubcard, and enjoy getting the returns, but I think presuming that you're getting something for nothing, or a bonus for "loyalty", is not 100% accurate.

[lindsaymcc]

I think for small businesses, the schemes tend to be for every £X spent, you get 1 stamp on a card. After 5 stamps you get £X to spend in store, and after 10 stamps you get £X amount to spend in store.

Example being the haberdashery shop I used when I lived in England, for every £10 spent, I got a stamp on the card, after 5 stamps I got £5 off, and after 10 stamps I got £10 off. Ok, so I spent a lot to get that £5 or £10 back, but as it was a small town, it was the only haberdashery I used, so I wasnt spending just for the loyalty stamps, I was spending on what I wanted or needed and couldnt get anywhere else. The loyalty card was a "bonus".