Asda is extending trials of its new ‘Asda Rewards’ loyalty app to customers in 16 of its stores, following a pilot with some of its staff last month.
From today, shoppers at selected stores across West Yorkshire and the West Midlands can download the ‘Asda Rewards’ app on their smartphones and begin building up a ‘cash pot’ each time they purchase a ‘star product’ or complete an in-app ‘mission’ when shopping in one of the trial stores.
People using the app will be able to earn rewards when buying selected branded and Asda own-label star products, including everyday grocery lines, beers, wines, spirits and household cleaning and pet products. Customers will also be rewarded for shopping across a range of brands, such as Cadbury’s, Heinz, Pampers, Budweiser, and Gillette.
As well as earning rewards for buying the products, shoppers can add to their cash pot by completing in-app missions. These include buying five fruit and veg items to unlock a ‘5 a day badge’ and be rewarded £1, or spending £15 on pet products to get £3 back as a reward.
The money built up in the cash pot can be redeemed by creating a voucher in the app. The customer can then use this on their next shop or save up to pay for a full shop in the future.
As the trial develops, Asda said it plans to customise offers so people can earn pounds for buying their favourite products, or rewards for buying products that are environmentally friendly.
Matt Mclellan, the retailer’s VP of Customer Proposition & Planning, said: “We know our customers want the best possible value when shopping with us, especially as household budgets become stretched. Our Asda Rewards trial rewards our loyal customers with pounds not points for buying the products they love.
“We hope that our customers will enjoy building up their cash pot during the trial and spending it on whatever they like in store – or saving it for the all-important Christmas shop.”
Both Tesco and Sainsbury’s have revamped their loyalty schemes in the last couple of years to make them more relevant to current shopping trends and support their fight against the discounters. Sainsbury’s Nectar scheme started offering tailored discounts last month, whilst Tesco’s Clubcard Prices promotion has driven up penetration of its loyalty scheme and contributed to its strong performance this year.
Meanwhile, Morrisons recently overhauled its ‘More’ loyalty scheme with a move away from collecting points to giving shoppers instant discounts and other offers.
NAM Implications:
- Asda (and its suppliers) can now learn from shopper behaviour…
- …whilst reaping the advantage of having arrived late at the ‘loyalty’ game.
- Better for suppliers to be in rather than outside this initiative…
