Costcutter is taking a leaf out of the multiples’ books and introducing a loyalty card scheme to help local retailers hold onto shoppers who may be tempted to shop around in the current economic climate. Customers will receive one point for every £1 spent in their local store, with every point worth 1p.

The scheme is managed by individual retailers through Costcutter’s own EPoS system CPoS, allowing retailers to mine the data to develop information on sales, target specific product sales or organise bonus point schemes. It could be rolled out to as many as 500 Costcutter stores currently using CPoS, Costcutter said.

“This is an extremely cost-effective way of creating long-term customer loyalty and provides the retailer with the flexibility they require,” added Costcutter IT director Kevin Widdrington.