Co-op has become the latest retailer to offer discounted prices to its loyalty cardholders.
The society is investing £240m across the next five years on a major overhaul of its membership scheme, with the key development being deals exclusively for members in its stores and Co-op-owned digital channels.
The Member Prices deals will go live in stores today (19 April) with a ‘Members Save More’ strapline. Co-op said members could save up to £300 a year. The deals include an average saving of £8 on its freezer filler deals, £1.45 savings on its Irresistible pizzas, £1.90 savings for ready meals, £5 savings on its wine deals and money off Co-op’s British barbecue lines and fresh fruit ranges this summer.
The move, which has echoes of Tesco’s Clubcard Prices and Sainsbury’s recent Nectar Prices initiatives, is part of Co-op’s ambition to add one million active members over the next five years. The target was announced earlier this month by Co-op Group CEO Shirine Khoury-Haq, who confirmed that in the latest financial year, the Co-op had recorded its first increase in the number of active members for five years. The figure has now hit 4.41 million, and Khoury-Haq said almost half of these new members were under 35.
A wider marketing campaign to support the memberships scheme, including TV, will launch in May.
As well as access to Member Prices, the scheme will retain existing benefits whereby 2p in every pound spent on own-brand products is both returned to the member’s digital wallet and used to help fund thousands of community causes across the UK. Members will also have access to personalised offers via the Co-op app.
The society is also set to invest a further £15m into lower prices from May. It claimed this would take the total invested into prices over the past six months to £52m. The investment aims to reduce the cost of more than 60 key lines such as fresh chicken breasts, bread and milk. Co-op said the average reduction would be 13% with a maximum discount of 33%.
“Our members lie at the heart of our Co-op, they trade more frequently across our business areas, they create additional value, which is returned back into communities and they have a say in how our Co-op operates,” said Co-op chief membership and customer officer Kenyatte Nelson.
“For us to champion a better way of doing business, we are aiming to grow our membership base by one million over the next five years and will accompany this ambition with a compelling member benefits programme, which will span our entire Co-op.
“Our initial member investment will be targeted within our food business and directly supports our Pure Convenience strategy. Currently about 16 million shoppers visit our stores each week or trade online with us. Our ambition is that many will convert to being Co-op members, when they see the clear value this can bring to both themselves and their wider communities.”
Co-op said the new benefits were currently focused on its food operations but would be extended in time to its funeralcare, insurance and legal services businesses.
It added that members were also set to benefit from Co-op’s naming rights deal for the new 23,000-capacity music venue Co-op Live, which is set to open in December.
Co-op will offer its members pre-sale tickets before general release, hospitality experiences, the chance to win free tickets and exclusive experiences, backstage VIP experiences and fast-track entry access to the arena.
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