Supermarkets urged to widen access to cheaper loyalty prices

Most supermarket loyalty prices offer genuine savings against the usual price – but they are still not always the cheapest option, according to a major new report. 

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says although most of the prices it looked at offered genuine savings, some products with a loyalty price were cheaper at other supermarkets, and it urges customers to shop around.

It also found that a very limited number of loyalty offers had a pricing pattern that could suggest the 'usual' price for the product may have been inflated during the loyalty price promotion.

The report echoed Which? calls for supermarkets to open access to lower loyalty prices for people excluded from signing up. It follows a series of Which? investigations that have revealed some loyalty prices discounts aren't always as good as they appear. 

Are loyalty prices genuine?

Two-tier loyalty pricing is now common across retailers, whereby members of a shop's loyalty scheme pay less than other shoppers. Many shoppers are suspicious of higher non-member prices, with our survey of 1,970 shoppers earlier this year revealing a worrying 55% think the non-member prices for items on a loyalty offer are higher than the usual selling prices of those products at that retailer.

The good news for these shoppers is that the CMA analysed around 50,000 grocery products on loyalty price promotion at five supermarkets (Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Co-op and Waitrose) and found the majority (92%) offered genuine savings on the usual price of the product at that retailer. 

However, Which? has previously looked at prices for thousands of products not just from supermarkets, but also from health and beauty retailers. We have repeatedly found examples of loyalty price offers that aren't as good as they seem. 

Our most recent investigation revealed instances where the price for non-members was raised just before the loyalty promotion was launched, times when the product didn't go back to the non-member price when the loyalty promotion ended, and loyalty 'discounts' that simply never stopped. 

We also found some non-member prices that were much higher than competitors’ prices for those same products.

Find out more: loyalty discounts aren't always as good as they appear

Millions excluded from lower prices 

The overwhelming majority of shoppers (97%) are signed up to at least one supermarket loyalty scheme, according to the CMA. 

But the CMA also found 43% of shoppers considered it unfair that loyalty scheme members paid lower prices for some products than non-members. 

Earlier this year Which? revealed millions of people are excluded from accessing lower loyalty prices at some of the UK's biggest retailers because many schemes have minimum age requirements, need shoppers to have UK residency or a UK address, or require an email address or access to an app to sign up.

This means that young carers, teenagers buying lunch, and people without internet access are among those excluded from lower prices at some stores.

We called for action from retailers to tackle this problem. The CMA has now backed these calls, saying some supermarkets could do more to ensure certain groups of shopper, such as those without a smartphone or those who are under 18, can access – or know how they can access – loyalty prices.

Should you sign up to a loyalty scheme? 

Retailer loyalty schemes are big business. Some shops offer two-tier loyalty pricing, where there is a lower price for members and a higher price for everyone else. Others offer points, different types of rewards or personalised discounts.

The discounts available through loyalty schemes can be significant – averaging between 10% (at Co-op and Boots) and 33% (at Superdrug), according to our loyalty pricing investigation in August 2024. On individual products, the savings are sometimes much bigger.

Loyalty schemes collect customer purchasing data – what they buy and where, and how much they spend. The insights gathered from this data are often then sold on to other businesses. 

If you don't mind getting a discount in exchange for your data, and you're able to sign up, it can be worth doing so as you'll probably save money on your shopping.

But don't let it stop you shopping around – there are big savings to be had simply by switching supermarket, particularly to Aldi and Lidl. These regularly come out on top in our monthly cheapest supermarket comparison.

• Find out more: loyalty schemes compared

Which? calls for action on loyalty pricing

Which? believes that the CMA should continue to look at loyalty pricing practices across a range of retailers (not just supermarkets) and be ready to use its new powers to take action against those that don’t comply with consumer law.

Sue Davies, Which? head of food policy, said: 'Two-tier loyalty pricing has become a common practice across retailers. It’s therefore reassuring that the CMA has found that most of the prices it looked at across supermarkets offered genuine savings against the usual price. However, the CMA stresses that it is worth shopping around as loyalty prices aren’t always the cheapest option.

'Which? has also looked at prices for thousands of products and repeatedly found examples of loyalty price offers that aren't as good as they seem. We have also raised concerns that millions of consumers are being excluded from accessing lower prices due to loyalty scheme restrictions. It’s therefore essential that supermarkets act on the CMA’s recommendation that supermarkets do more to enable people to join their schemes.'