Poundland makes big change to loyalty scheme in cost-cutting shake-up amid store closure risk
The discount store has scrapped its exclusive lower prices for Poundland Perk members, which had worked similarly to Tesco's Clubcard offers.
It comes as the troubled discount chain is being sold off by owner Pepco and up to 200 stores could face closure.
Poundland has told The Sun the loyalty scheme shake-up is aimed at lowering prices on the shelves for all customers without the "hassle" of looking for a voucher in the shop's app.
Customers will still be able to collect points on their shops and there will be weekly competitions to win points and prizes.
Poundland shoppers get Perk Points when they spend money at the retailer and these can be turned into vouchers when they've accumulated at least 5,000 points.
The Win It Wednesday competition is available in Poundland's app every Wednesday.
Shoppers can spin the virtual wheel for a chance to win points or prizes and no purchase is needed.
A spokesperson for Poundland said: "We've been listening closely to customers since we began piloting the app nationwide.
"They tell us they really love collecting points and playing on 'Win it Wednesday', but customers want to see the lowest prices on the shelf without the hassle of looking for a voucher in the app.
"So, we're bringing more of what they love and less of what they don't!"
What's happening at Poundland?
Poundland has been struggling in recent months after reporting slow sales and a rise in costs due to the Government's Budget measures.
Poundland to be sold for JUST £1 as frontrunner for shock takeover is revealed after wave of store closures
The brand said in an update yesterday it had suffered "challenges across all categories" and had shut 18 stores in the six months to March.
Late last year it was revealed that profits at the company had tumbled by £641million in the year to September.
Polish retail giant Pepco currently owns Poundland but is expecting to sell it off by September.
Last month it hired advisory firm Teneo to oversee the sale of the business.
Gordon Brothers, the ex-owner of Laura Ashley, has become the frontrunner to take over the bargain chain.
Bidding for the business was expected to start earlier this week and a source told The Sunday Times that Poundland would be priced at "effectively a pound".
Sky News is now reporting that Gordon Brothers and former HMV and Homebase owner Hilco are in a two-way race to buy the chain.
A decision on the preferred bidder is likely within days.
Up to 200 stores could reportedly close as part of the rescue deal.
Poundland currently has 825 stores across the UK.
The retailer has already announced plans to shut around 10 stores since the start of the year.
Some of the stores that have already shut include locations in Ipswich, Gravesend, London and Liverpool.
The store on Chiswick High Road in west London will close next week.
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre's decline.
The Sun's business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April 2025, will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Carpetright, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Paperchase, Ted Baker, The Body Shop, Topshop and Wilko to name a few.
What's increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
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