Tesco claims Clubcard relaunch “success”
Tesco says the May relaunch of its Clubcard loyalty scheme is showing early signs of being successful.
The retailer’s finance director Laurie McIlwee said that one million customers had already taken advantage of an offer to ‘double up’ their points while more people were signing up to the scheme.
He added that Tesco would rather take this loyalty-based approach than engage in heavy cost-cutting and cited Safeway as an example of the dangers of the latter practice.
The 17 million member scheme was launched supported by a TV ad campaign on May 11. Clubcard holders can now double the value of vouchers against a range of products in-store and online. Previously vouchers were only worth face value on Tesco products but could be redeemed for up to four times their value with partners such as restaurants and theme parks.
Tesco says that in the 13 weeks to May 30, UK sales grew by a slightly better than expected 4.3% on a like-for-like basis, compared with sales growth of 3.7% in the previous quarter. The retailer added though that it was too soon to call the figures indicated a recovery from the economic downturn.
McIlwee said there are signs customers are beginning to feel more confident, with greater demand for the Organic and Tesco’s Finest ranges.
Sales of non-food ranges are also up year-on-year for the first time since early 2008, led by electronics and toys after the collpase of retail rival Woolworth’s.
Sainsbury’s is today expected to report a 7.3% rise in like-for-like sales for the 12 weeks to June 13. Earlier this month, Morrisons reported an 8.2% rise in underlying sales for the 13 weeks to May 3.