How loyal are you to a particular supermarket? A plethora of recent news stories has not made very good reading for some of the bigger supermarkets – or their customers – but is that enough to persuade you to switch?
Tesco announced this morning that the city regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, has launched a full-scale investigation into the £250m black hole the retailer discovered in its accounts last week.
Also today, Sainsbury’s posted disappointing results just days after coming under fire for its “fifty pence challenge” poster. Meant for staff eyes only, the poster asked staff to push shoppers to spend more. It was snapped by passerby Chris Dodd, who put the picture on Twitter, where it was retweeted by more than 3,700 people. Some consumers were outraged that Sainsbury’s was pushing staff to get shoppers to spend more while its new adverts promise to save shoppers money with price cuts. Ouch.
Morrisons has been in the headlines too. Earlier this week the FCA announced it had charged the supermarket’s former treasurer with insider dealing, though there is no suggestions any other of the retailer’s employees were involved. Tomorrow Morrisons will try to steal a march on its rivals when it launches its first loyalty card.
But even this tried and tested customer retention device has its downfalls – as Waitrose and John Lewis recently discovered. Waitrose has been so overwhelmed by its free coffee offer for holders of the MyWaitrose card that it has had to install machines so customers could help themselves (many without lingering to actually shop), while sister store John Lewis had similar problems with its free tea and cake offer for MyJohn Lewis cardholders.
Of course the financial recession has persuaded shoppers to become more savvy, although the less flattering adjective used by retail pointy-heads is “fickle”. Consumers can pop into Tesco (or go online) for cheap loo roll, Lidl for the best and cheapest parmesan cheese and Waitrose for good-value wine.
But do you shop around – or do you stick religiously to the supermarket that is closest to your house? Have you swtiched from your supermarket to another in the last 12 months and if so, why? Do you plan to? What would it take to make you switch your loyalty? Do you value loyalty cards or would you rather have cheaper prices than free coffees and other perks?
