Sainsbury has given its clearest indication yet that it will sign up again to Nectar when the contract comes up for renewal this year, after bowing to customer pressure to make it more user-friendly.
There has been persistent speculation about the future of Sainsbury's involvement in Nectar, which costs the retailer about £120m annually.
Sainsbury has shown its commitment by responding to long-running consumer complaints about only being able to redeem points in the store where they registered.
From April, members will be able to spend points in any store, as long as they have shopped there at least once since April 1. Their Nectar details are then held at the store for three months or can be reactivated within 48 hours at any point after.
Ben Crowther, JS marketing manager for Nectar, claimed the move made the scheme the easiest-to-use supermarket loyalty programme in the UK.
"Our research shows that 40% of customers shop at more than one store.
"And now our customers will also have the benefit of electronic redemption of points at any of our stores, making it even more convenient."

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