UK shoppers without a smartphone are missing out on the best supermarket loyalty deals and discounts, new data warns.
A new report from retail analysts Mintel has revealed that retailers move to urge customers to download their loyalty apps to receive lower membership prices risks alienating older and more vulnerable shoppers who do not have access to such devices, reported The Telegraph.
Figures from charity Age UK show that a third of over-75s do not use the internet, which accounts for almost 1.6m people in the UK, although other groups – such as teenagers and those unable to afford smart phones – are also impacted.
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Among the grocers, only Asda shoppers using a specific app can use the Asda Reward scheme, which rewards customers 10% with certain products.
Similarly, Lidl’s app, Lidl Plus which awards shoppers with money-off coupons depending how much they spend in store, is only available as a smart phone app, and Morrisons More loyalty cards were replaced with an app in 2021 – although now customers can now apply for a physical card through an application and a 14 day wait period.
Meanwhile, despite Tesco Clubcard being currently accessed both as either a physical card or app, the supermarket is increasingly making some perks only accessible through the app, for example its latest Easter competition.
The migration of supermarkets from physical loyalty cards to smartphone apps have also raised questions about the use of members data.
Currently several supermarkets, such as Tesco with Dunnhumby and Sainsbury’s with Nectar360, now either own or work in partnership with digital data companies.
