The consumer champion found that millions of shoppers are unable to sign up to loyalty schemes because of minimum age requirements, not having UK residency or an address, or because they don’t have an email address or access to an app.
Which? is calling for action after revealing the extent of restrictions with these schemes and how they vary between retailers.
Supermarkets and health and beauty retailers
Which? looked at the UK’s biggest supermarkets offering two-tier loyalty prices, as well as health and beauty retailers Boots and Superdrug.
Its research found that you must be 18 or over to join loyalty schemes at Lidl, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose; at Co-op and Morrisons, you need to be 16. You can sign up even younger at Co-op and Sainsbury’s if you’re added to a parent or guardian’s account. Meanwhile, at Boots and Superdrug, you only need to be 13.
There are also big differences in address requirements and whether or not digital access is needed.
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Loyalty schemes that require digital access include those of Asda, Iceland, Lidl and Waitrose, while those that don’t include those of Co-op, Morrisons, Tesco, Superdrug and Boots.
Retailers that have address or residency requirements include Iceland, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose, Superdrug and Boots.
The sign-up requirements mean young carers, teenagers buying lunch and people without internet access are among those excluded from lower prices at some stores.
Significant discounts
The discounts available through loyalty schemes can be significant. Previous Which? research found they can be up to 33%. But on individual products, the savings are sometimes much bigger.
Those unable to sign up for loyalty membership would find themselves paying more on a range of everyday products, from frozen vegetables and bread to cheese and milk.
Which? also found savings available only to loyalty members on essentials such as deodorant, period products, ibuprofen gel, toddler milk, first aid products and condoms.
For example, Bodyform Sanitary Towels at Sainsbury’s cost £2.75 for non-members and £2 for members. At Tesco, a 120g jar of Heinz Cheesy Tomato Pasta baby food costs £1.10 for non-members and 90p for members.
Which? is concerned that certain groups of people are excluded from accessing lower loyalty prices at major supermarkets and health and beauty retailers on the basis of their age, lack of address or level of digital access.
The consumer champion believes the lower prices offered by loyalty schemes should be available to those who are ineligible to sign up through no fault of their own – and Which? is calling on retailers to find a solution to this issue.
What do retailers say?
Which? asked the major supermarkets offering two-tier loyalty pricing, plus Boots and Superdrug, about their restrictions.
Boots and Superdrug said they’re “committed to value for all customers”. Boots said many deals are available to non-members and customers need a UK address to get relevant communications. Superdrug said its residency requirements are in line with where it delivers.
Lidl said it offers non-member promotions and that its age restriction is the industry standard and in line with legal requirements relating to its app, including where adult consent is needed.
Sainsbury’s said it wants to make it easy for customers to join Nectar and they don’t need email or a phone number.
Tesco said customers hadn’t raised concerns over age eligibility criteria and didn’t need an email to sign up.
Waitrose said its age and address requirements are in line with those of some other retailers and reflect store locations.
How loyalty schemes work
Many supermarket loyalty schemes offer two-tier loyalty pricing, where there is a lower price for members and a higher price for everyone else.
Others offer points, different types of rewards or personalised discounts.
Loyalty schemes collect customer purchasing data – what they buy and where, and how much they spend. The insights gathered from this data are often then sold on to other businesses.
Although some shoppers like the savings offered by loyalty pricing, others are suspicious that non-member prices are sometimes hiked to make discounts look better than they really are.
