MSE News: Superdrug takes on Boots with loyalty card launch

Former_MSE_Guy

This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:

"Customers will be able to pick up the free Beautycard in any store from Wednesday and collect points with most purchases ..."

Read the full story:
Superdrug takes on Boots with loyalty card launch

lilian1977

What's the point in launching a rival card and the rewards being nowhere near as good?

miss_pixie_2

true, i mean its hardly competition at 1 point per £.....dissapointed in superdrug

alistairsmummy

I am a store manager for Superdrug and they can change the offer at any time. You will also get emails based on what you buy and double and triple points etc. The staff have been trialling it and we are very impressed by it.

Bronnie

My local Superdrug stores have no allure for me whatsoever at present, regardless of loyalty cards.
In particular, their staff seem to be spectacularly disinterested in their customers.

jenniewb

They need to do something! Superdrug used to be a competative store, they used to average out at 1/3 cheaper then Boots for the exact same products. But they don't seem to do this anymore, they can often be more expensive then Boots and IME Boots used to be the most expensive place to shop when you compare it with places like Tesco, Savers, various pound stores and etc.

Then they went and let down customers with their "best ever up to 90% off sale" one boxing day not so long ago then proceeded to upset the many customers by reporting "it was only 90% off in some stores..." This stuck in my mind as poor customer service. I haven't thought of the store in such a posative light since that and I didn't even waste my time queueing for it!

I see they are offering 1 per pound. This is 1% cashback. Boots offer 4% Tesco offer 2% and Savers are just 30% cheaper for what I want. I think they're going to have to try much harder then that!

BargainMad_3

Superdrug often have ENORMOUS queues and not enough checkout staff and I can only think that a loyalty card would slow things down even more

And it is strange that they have called it a "Beauty Card" which does not have the all encompassing reach of the "Advantage Card".....will the staff have to ask male shoppers if they have a beauty card?

I have a Debenhams Beauty Card and that makes sense as they only sell cosmetics/beauty products/fragrance but Superdrug sell everything from washing up liquid to newspapers. I would have called it something more far reaching.

It will certainly need ramping up with extra point offers but I cannot see them being able to replicate Advantage Card Point terminals which exist in Boots.

Still it's better than nothing.....JUST !

Hermia

I'll pick up one up, but unless Superdrug improves things I won't be betraying Boots just yet. Not only is the Boots card more generous, but there is more stuff to spend your points on in Boots. I save my points up for perfume, but I wouldn't want to do that in Superdrug as they only seem to stock celebrity perfumes. I also save my points up for Christmas gifts, but Superdrugs Christmas gifts are a bit tacky in comparison to the ones in Boots.

A few years back I thought Superdrug had a bit of a makeover and was trying to model themselves on the big American drugstores. I thought this was a great idea, but it seemed to die a bit of a death. My local Superdrugs is such a mess. One of the make-up counters (I think it's Gosh) is such a mess. They never seem to clean and tidy it.

BargainMad_3

I should add that one real way of improving the checkout experience would be if they STOPPED asking you if you wanted to buy a mobile phone top up or stamps or if you had "found" everything that you were looking for in store.

The staff are disinterested asking these questions, the customers are embarassed being asked them, the sales that are derived must be tiny and many shoppers must bypass Superdrug for Boots where the staff are not scripted to be like automatons.

Genuinely feel sorry for the staff having to ask these type of things and it is even worse in Savers (part of the same group).

Mat_Lock

Thanks for this

JCS1

Seems odd that the loyalty card is 1% - better to puy from Superdrug on-line with 8% cashback from quidco and free P&P over £25.