Less than a year since launching nationally, Asda’s loyalty scheme is the UK’s third favourite, according to an index by digital agency Future Platforms.
Some 12% of UK consumers surveyed named the supermarket’s app-based loyalty programme Asda Rewards their favourite, the third highest proportion after Tesco’s Clubcard (35%) and Sainsbury’s Nectar (17%).
“It’s surprising that Asda has ranked so highly given it’s still a very new programme, and the fact it ranked higher than Boots or Costa – which also have significant scale – is impressive,” said Remy Brooks, head of strategy at Future Platforms.
“The historical thinking on digital loyalty experiences is that they evolve and improve over time as more people get introduced to them, but Asda has bucked that trend,” he added.
Tesco’s loyalty scheme launched in 1995 and Nectar in 2002, while Asda had long been the only one of the big four supermarkets without a loyalty scheme, before Asda Rewards was rolled out nationwide in August last year.
Supermarkets dominate the top spots in the ranking, with Boots, Costa and Amazon the only non-supermarket schemes in the top 10.
Lidl’s relatively young loyalty scheme – Lidl Plus, which launched in late 2020 – came sixth in the ranking.
Supermarkets’ move towards cardholder-only pricing – pioneered by Tesco Clubcard and since mimicked by rivals – is broadly welcomed by consumers, further Future Platforms research shows. The study revealed three-quarters of people feel “positive” or “very positive” about member-only pricing, while 64% of respondents said they have joined a loyalty scheme specifically to benefit from member-only pricing.
Asda is yet to introduce cardholder-only pricing, instead allowing users to “earn pounds, not points” and build up a cashpot to spend in Asda stores or online. It is nevertheless effective, says Brooks.
“The thing Asda has done right is to place itself clearly in the centre of this new desire from customers for transactional loyalty, where you can access the value right from the off,” he said. “They have also made the value exchange really clear with their ‘cashpots’ and the ability to spend or save straight away, or keep for later.”
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