Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts has defended its loyalty scheme, amid accusations that supermarkets make savings appear better than they are.
Roberts said: “We have very clear rules about what a price is, what it is before it comes down to being a Nectar Price, and we’re very consistent about how we do that.”
Pressed on whether there were plans for the business to bring Nectar Prices to local convenience stores, the Sainsbury’s CEO said it prioritised supermarkets and online since the prices were about “giving customers on their basket and trolley shops the biggest savings that we can”.
The news comes as the CMA is set to kick off a review of supermarket loyalty schemes this month, which will centre around only offering promotional prices to customers who sign up to their loyalty cards.
Roberts said that Sainsbury’s stellar Christmas, where like-for-like sales jumped 7.4% excluding fuel, had been “powered by Nectar Prices”.
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Meanwhile, Roberts said that disruption in the Red Sea, caused by cargo vehicles having to reroute due to attacks on vessels, meant journeys were taking 10 to 14 days longer.
Last week, Next boss Lord Wolfson warned of stock delays and a potential hit to sales caused by the issues.
Roberts said: “We’re making sure that we plan the sequencing of products from Asia Pacific so that we get products in the right order, and obviously we’re working hard to make sure that we mitigate any impacts for customers.
“But also we have long term contracts in place for these issues to make sure that we mitigate any cost impacts as far as possible.”
He revealed that Sainsbury’s was in talks with the government and is “watching the situation very closely”.
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