The Co-op is halfway towards its target of adding one million new members by 2028, having reached five million active members.
The convenience retailer credited the relaunch of its membership in April, including the addition of Member Prices, with boosting recruitment. At the time of the relaunch the society told The Grocer it had 4.41 million active users.
It said its current number of members was the highest it had registered for eight years.
The new lower pricing for members came after the Co-op invested £90m into its value proposition over the course of this year. Co-op said its members can now save 7.5% on average on essential everyday items such as milk and eggs, in comparison to what they would pay at other convenience retailers.
As well as membership-based pricing, members retained 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 also have access to personalised offers via the Co-op app.
The society said the scheme had provided over £100m to 36,000 Local Community Fund causes so far this year. Earlier this week it confirmed that instead of investing in a Christmas television ad campaign, it was encouraging its members and customers to give “the gift of community spirit”. It is asking members to donate the money from their rewards balance on its app, or alternatively shoppers can make donations at the checkout in stores. The Co-op said it would then match the money raised up to £1m.
Co-op said today it plans to further reinvigorate its membership offer when it unveils its new strategy for growth in early 2024.
“We’re putting our member owners at the heart of our Co-op. Our member owners don’t just benefit from our best prices and exclusive offers, but they also have a say in how we are run, and the opportunity to support the causes closest to them and their communities,” said Co-op CEO Shirine Khoury-Haq.
“This Christmas we are going even further to make a difference in local communities by matching member and customer donations to local communities.”
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