Tesco in long overdue Clubcard relaunch
Tesco is to bring its Clubcard scheme into the multimedia age next year when it relaunches as an online rewards programme.
Developing a ‘secure, multichannel’ smart coupon’, the UK retailer will move the scheme to digital channels in an effort to simplify its rewards programme and cut down on direct-mail costs.
According to Tesco, the move will offer easier access and more choice for its customers.
Alison Wright, Tesco Clubcard’s senior marketing manager, said that the new scheme will be launched sometime in 2011, but that the firm is still in the planning stages with details not finalised yet.
Tesco would not comment on suppliers or whether the change would affect its agency roster.
The 15-year-old Clubcard has been showing its age for some time. It was given a minor overhaul last year, which achieved an increase in cardholders of around one million.
Currently, the retailer is offering double points for every £1 spent. However, the firm has increased the number of points needed to get deals with its reward partners.
Beginning on December 6, cardholders will receive vouchers worth three times their original value, rather than the current redemption rate, which is four-times the value.
In addition to the relaunch, Tesco is also adding a barcode reader to its iPhone grocery app to allow shoppers to add items to their online shopping basket “more quickly and simply”.
Tesco claims the barcode reader is a first for the grocery industry and enables shoppers to use the app to scan grocery items wherever they are, at any time and add them to their online shopping list.
CEO of Tesco.com Laura Wade-Gery says: “We’re always looking for ways to make life easier for customers and for busy mums in particular. This is the perfect solution for iPhone lovers that are always forgetting to add items to their shopping list .”