Loyalty cards and watchdogs

sarahTT

Loyalty cards offer genuine savings, says watchdog - BBC News
I am no great fan of our various watchdogs, some of whom seem more like "sleepdogs". So what's your take on the CMA's findings?
We use just two schemes: Nectar for Sainsbury/Argos/eBay and Lidl Plus. Nectar/Sainsbury definitely saves us money... just as examples we go through five or six packs of Stilton per month (yes, we do) and every third week or so we get a multiple use offer with 30% off, so instead of £2.50 we end up with £1.75 (in fact, even the 2.50 is a smidgen cheaper than Lidl). Or loose black tea, instead of £1.65 it's £1.16. Etc. Plus the points of course.
OTOH Lidl is a far less good. I've more than once thought of just cancelling the whole thing, but somehow, magically, whenever I'm almost at the point of doing so, along comes a good offer
I'd say Nectar saves us at least £15-20 every month, often more, whereas Lidl Plus is just £2-3.
So for us the bottom line is indeed positive. How about other members?

Sarahspangles

It’s certainly possible to leave Sainsbury’s with a smaller receipt and some Nectar points, but I strongly object to wasting my time saving offers and checking shelf prices, especially when they’re planning to sell on my data. 

General_Grant

Sarahspangles said:

It’s certainly possible to leave Sainsbury’s with a smaller receipt and some Nectar points, but I strongly object to wasting my time saving offers and checking shelf prices, especially when they’re planning to sell on my data. 

?????????????

FlorayG

I use my local Co-op a lot and get two money off offers a week, I almost always use those. Lidl app is a bit complicated but I did get 10% off a huge shop recently. Morrisons has 'Saver Prices' that you only get if you have the card
I think as long as you are only buying what you would buy anyway they are good. Where they 'get' you is encouraging you to buy something you don't really need just because there is money off it today

sarahTT

@Sarahspangles Tell us more about those plans to sell data as I'm trying to minimise my exposure to these things (hubby has long preached that I need an ad blocker in my browser and I admit it does make a difference). So, what evidence is there that Sainsbury/Nectar are selling customer data?

@FlorayG Yep, I agree that a bit of self-restraint helps... when I started with Lidl Plus I bought two (cheapo) items I didn't really need nor even wanted just because they were much reduced. But I learnt that lesson quickly... when I left the shop I was already telling off myself.

Sarahspangles

sarahTT said:

@Sarahspangles Tell us more about those plans to sell data as I'm trying to minimise my exposure to these things (hubby has long preached that I need an ad blocker in my browser and I admit it does make a difference). So, what evidence is there that Sainsbury/Nectar are selling customer data?

It’s in the article linked to: 

One of the main reasons supermarkets offer loyalty schemes is so they can collect data on customers.

And:

Some supermarkets sell data to suppliers which can then be used to deliver targeted advertising.

Selling data can be lucrative. Sainsbury's has said it expects Nectar360, the group which manages the supermarket's loyalty scheme, to make an additional £100m in profit over the next three years.

I’m not one of the ‘tin hat brigade’, before someone accuses me, I just object to being manipulated whether as an individual, or because I’ve been assigned to some aggregated group who marketing teams are more likely to offer a specific product because we’ve all bought some other product.

There is still too much onus on us as individuals to ensure boxes are ticked and settings customised so we’re not followed around by the technological equivalent of a whiny street peddler. If I spot it’s happening, I clear history and update settings in whatever system I use.

I know businesses need to sell stuff, I actually prefer the experience of getting random stuff in my social media feeds. Otherwise every 50-something woman is seeing the same stuff that not all of us are interested in.