Sainsbury’s has bought Nectar in a £60million deal and it could mean a shake-up for customers
Sainsbury's says there will be no changes to the scheme at the moment but it means the supermarket has more control of customer data
SAINSBURY'S has bought the Nectar reward scheme in a £60million deal.
The supermarket has been a member of the Nectar scheme since it launched in 2002 and the deal means it will be in charge of the business, giving it control of customer data.
It bought the loyalty scheme from Canadian marketing firm Aimia, which bought Nectar for £368million in 2007.
A spokesperson for Sainsbury's said that there would be "no change for customers" and that they should continue to collect and redeem their Nectar points as normal.
But that they would be looking at the scheme in the future, hinting that there make be a shake-up down the line.
At present Nectar members can collect points when spending money at Sainsbury's but also 500 other brands including BP petrol stations, British Gas and eBay.
Once customers have collected point they can then spend them on the Nectar website or use their points to spend at Sainsbury's.
Shoppers get £2.50 in Sainsbury's for every 500 points but it's much more lucrative for members to exchange them in the Nectar shop and use them towards theme park or train tickets.
Last year, Britain's second-biggest supermarket chain bought Argos and has since opened hundreds of concessions inside big stores.
Hannah Maundrell, editor in chief of money.co.uk, said: “Sainsbury’s has long been associated with Nectar cards and this is a positive move for the brand.
"This will give the supermarket giant a greater understanding of their customers, which in turn may mean better deals for consumers.
"With data on their side Sainsbury’s is bound to be a key contender in the ongoing supermarket battle for customer loyalty.
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I hope any changes they make will mean the value of our Nectar card points will grow rather than diminish.
"Loyal Nectar users will be used to money off certain restaurants and retailers and they won't be happy if changes made will mean they'll be worse off in the future.”
Last month, Tesco announced a shake-up of its scheme by cutting the value of some of its rewards.
Supermarkets are under pressure to keep customers as budget supermarkets Lidl and Aldi and websites like Amazon with its fresh grocery line become increasingly popular with shoppers.
Last month, we reported on how Amazon Fresh is under cutting big supermarket prices by as much as 25 per cent.
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