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Woolworths to revamp unpopular loyalty scheme suggests reports

Woolworths is set to give its widely-panned loyalty program a makeover just eight months after launch, suggests an article in Fairfax Media.

Reports suggest the latest version of the loyalty program will be unveiled in coming months and will broaden the range of products for which customers can earn “Woolworths dollars from”.

woolworths Rewards card

In October last year the supermarket giant revamped its Everyday Rewards Program, triggering a wave of customer outrage after it was revealed the supermarket had ended its partnership with Qantas.

At the time of the revamp Chris Doufas, co-founder and managing director at The Loyalty Group, told Mumbrella the loss of the partnership with Qantas would have deep repercussions.

He said: “People ultimately want to get something back that’s tangible. Flights are generally ranked fifth or sixth as a reward people are seeking, but the problem here is that everyone is interested in Qantas rewards.”

According to today’s Fairfax Media report, the new-look loyalty program will include revisions to make it more attractive to grocery suppliers.

A supplier told Fairfax Media the present scheme is costly and did not compare with regular promotions.

“We haven’t ever really participated in Woolworths’ loyalty schemes and the changes to the program last year didn’t improve things,” he said.

“It’s really costly and my financial team showed me some modelling that demonstrated we were better off with normal promotions. But we would absolutely get involved if it was something that was relevant to our brands and our customers.”

In April, Woolworths rejected claims in Fairfax Media that it would have to redirect hundreds of millions of dollars into cutting prices to counter the negative consumer response to changes to its Rewards program.

Woolworths has been approached for comment.

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