As the build up to Christmas is fast-approaching, it comes as a surprise that Sainsbury‘s has announced they are to slash the number of Nectar points customers can earn when shopping.
From 11th of April, Sainsbury‘s customers will only be able to earn one point for every pound they spend in store or online, as opposed to previously when customers were entitled to two points for every pound. Customers will also no longer be able to receive nectar points for when they reuse plastic shopping bags. Despite the new reward scheme coming into affect soon, the supermarket has said that shoppers will still get the similar amount of rewards, because of regular ‘bonus events‘ that are to be held both in store and online.
‘We are changing the way customers earn Nectar points and launching more high-value bonus events, like Swipe to Win, 10xpoints on fuel and adding more categories to our Christmas ‘Double Up‘ event so that customers can make their points go even further.‘ A spokesperson for Sainsbury‘s said.
This decision has come at an uncertain time within the supermarket industry, where price wars are at an all time high and consumers are now turning to rivals outside of the Big Four market. Shoppers are now becoming loyal customers to the likes of Aldi and Lidl.
Jan-Pieter Lips, president at EMEA, Aimia (which owns the Nectar card) said; “We‘re always looking at how Nectar can evolve to reflect the way members like to shop. When we launched more than 10 years ago we took a standardised approach to awarding points. Today, with our considerable customer insights and technological developments, Nectar can be used in a more targeted and personalised way.”
It is hoped the new incentives will produce a more engaging loyalty programme and a more compelling marketing opportunity for Sainsbury‘s.
