Waitrose has reduced its loyalty scheme from weekly vouchers to vouchers that will now only be delivered to shoppers from “time to time”, in a move that has angered some customers.
The retailer’s myWaitrose reward scheme previously allowed members to receive two vouchers each week to be used by midnight the following week, either in-store or online.
However, under the new change, Waitrose has now adjusted its terms and conditions to read: “If eligible, the customer may receive vouchers for personalised offers on products from time-to-time.”
Despite the backlash, Waitrose did stress that this change will not impact customers, and it was simply aligning the programme to “industry standards”.
Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning
A Waitrose spokesman said: “While the vast majority of members will see personalised vouchers as usual every week, there may be short breaks between these. But don’t worry, they’ll be back soon.
“Our loyalty scheme is used by millions of customers, with benefits including free hot drinks and exclusive discounts across hundreds of products.”
He added: “We’ve also made improvements, like giving customers the ability to reselect their personalised vouchers if they change their mind, or an item is out of stock.”
Despite the reassurances, the change was received unfavourably by customers that blasted the retailer for not officially notifying loyalty members about the new terms and conditions.
It will come as a blow to the retailer who in recent weeks has seen shoppers switch to rival chain M&S, following the John Lewis Partnership struggling in recent years and accumulating £234m in losses in 2022.
Recent data showed that M&S now has a 3.8% market share, equal to rival upmarket grocer Waitrose and a significant jump from 2021 when M&S held just 3.2% compared to Waitrose’s 4.2%.
