The chief executive of Lidl GB has responded to claims from the boss of Aldi UK that loyalty schemes are “duping” customers with fake discounts.
Lidl’s Ryan McDonnell responded as he announced the discounter’s latest annual results, showing sales rose by 10.8% to £13bn, boosted by a 23% increase in active users of the Lid Plus loyalty app.
Asked for his thoughts on Aldi UK CEO Giles Hurley’s criticism of loyalty schemes, McDonnell said: “Listening to our customers” and “improving the overall shopping experience” was the “most important thing”.
“Lidl Plus is something that’s resonating fantastically well with customers, and we see that in switching data as well,” McDonnell said.
“It’s really important to us to listen to our customers and understand our customers and that would be our stance on it.”
His comments come a week after Hurley accused rivals of making it more difficult for shoppers to budget with loyalty discounts which were “perceived rather than real”. Hurley said Aldi – which has no loyalty scheme – was instead focused on everyday low pricing and “giving customers certainty they’re getting the best value in every basket”.
Hurley first attacked rivals’ loyalty discounts in August, writing in an article for The Mail’s This is Money that PM Andy Burnham was right to plan a clampdown on “fake ‘was’ prices”.
Lidl has increased funding for personalised coupon rewards in its loyalty app by 60% in 2026. It also began rewarding shoppers with points on every purchase in May, redeemable as discounts on a future shop.
It helped attract 43 million additional customer visits, with Lidl,taking more than £650m of spend from competitors. It also invested £315m in price cuts and promotions, according to its trading update.
The volume of products it sold in the period rose by 486 million.
Operating profit increased by 9.9% to £345m, helping fund a pipeline of 50 new stores this year in a £600m expansion investment.
“With three in five British households now shopping with us, it’s clear our model is working,” said McDonnell. “Keeping things simple is important to us and delivering great quality products at prices people can rely on.”
“Our real competitive edge is Lidl Plus,” he added. “It has become one of our biggest success stories, giving us a unique way to reward customer loyalty directly.”
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