Asda is handing out 50p discount coupons as a way of compensating shoppers who have a bad experience in its stores.
The coupons – dubbed ‘Smiley Vouchers’ – can be handed out by store staff to shoppers, giving them an instant discount at the till, in instances where there is poor availability, or if they are unhappy with the standard of store or level of customer service, the supermarket said.
Smiley Vouchers were first launched by Asda in the early 2000s. They existed under various guises including Star Vouchers, Smiley Vouchers and Spark Vouchers, before being abandoned in 2021.
They were returned and rolled out across all of Asda supermarkets in September.
“We’ve brought back our much-loved ‘Smiley Vouchers’ for colleagues to brighten a customer’s day when things don’t quite go to plan in store,” an Asda spokesman said.
“This could be if their favourite product is unavailable or if their experience in store did not meet the high standards we set ourselves. These vouchers are small gesture to show we care and want to make it right.
“Reintroducing this classic touch of ‘Asdaness’ is part of our focus on delivering the warm, friendly service our customers know and expect every time they shop with us.”
Since his return to the business as executive chairman in November 2024, Allan Leighton has expressed his desire to return Asda’s “DNA” of lower prices and to improve its store standards, which have slipped considerably as its struggles with debt and its costly but now complete Project Future IT transition diverted funds away from supermarkets.
The reintroduction of Rollback, which now spans thousands of lines, has made Asda much more competitive, helping it regain its title of the UK’s cheapest grocer in the Grocer 33 last year. While it is still making a loss, a like-for-like sales decline of 0.2% in the second quarter of 2025 was it’s best quarterly performance since January 2024.
However, its store standards remain inconsistent, with Asda winning Grocer 33 store of the week – which measures service and availability – just six times over the past two years. Five of those wins have come in the current year, however.
No comments yet