By Debbie Kitcher-Jones
Are you a member of a supermarket loyalty scheme?
If so, do you trust that the loyalty discounts are as good as
they seem, and that you are getting a good deal?\
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is working to make
sure people get a fair deal as they continue to face cost of
living pressures. As part of our work in the groceries sector, we've been
investigating supermarket
loyalty pricing and have today published the final report of our
investigation.
As part of our investigation, we wanted to check:
- whether promotions can be trusted
- how promotions compare to prices available at other
supermarkets
- how accessible these promotions are
- whether consumers are being treated fairly
We asked shoppers how they really feel about loyalty pricing, and
found that:
- 68% think that loyalty prices offer good savings for
members
- 26% said that loyalty pricing would make them more likely to
shop at a particular supermarket
- 40% do not trust that the loyalty price is a genuine saving
on the usual price for that product
- 55% said they think that non-member prices during a loyalty
price promotion are generally higher than the price usually
charged for the product
We analysed around 50,000 grocery products on loyalty price
promotions and found very little evidence of supermarkets
inflating their usual prices to make loyalty promotions seem like
a better deal.
Our messages to shoppers Loyalty
prices offer genuine savings
Our findings reveal shoppers can make an average saving of 17 to
25% compared to the usual price when buying loyalty priced
products at the 5 supermarkets examined (Tesco, Sainsbury's,
Waitrose, Co-op and Morrisons).
Shop around for the best deal
Are you a bargain hunter? We found loyalty prices typically beat
other supermarkets' regular prices and are often similar to other
promotional prices. But we also saw examples of other promotions
and regular prices being cheaper for some products so shop around
to find the best deals.
Our messages to supermarkets
Supermarkets should:
- read our advice on how to help them stay on the right side of
the law
- make sure none of their loyalty price promotions have the
potential to mislead shoppers
- consider whether they could do more to make sure that those
under 18, customers without smartphones, and people without fixed
addresses are not prevented from joining loyalty schemes and
accessing cheaper loyalty prices
Find out more
You can read more about the investigation on our loyalty pricing case
page.
You can also find out more about what we're
doing to help people get a fair deal as they face the rising
cost of living. This update covers our recent work on road fuel prices, groceries, infant formula, vet services, online shoppingand housing.
