Latest news with #SmartShop
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
From Boots to Waitrose – the loyalty cards that are actually worth it
Loyalty cards have become big business in recent years, and could well be the difference between a retailer or restaurant gaining or losing customers. Instead of simply earning points to redeem against your next shop, the largest retailers have introduced extra incentives – such as exclusive discounts to cardholders, and personalised offers based on how you shop. But how much can you actually save? Here, Telegraph Money explores what the top schemes offer, and how to make the most of them. Supermarket loyalty schemes Beauty store rewards Restaurant schemes High-end department store rewards Should you sign up for a loyalty scheme? Tesco Clubcard Nectar M&S Sparks MyWaitrose Ocado Smart Pass First introduced in 1995, the Tesco Clubcard scheme is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The scheme has around 23 million users, according to The Grocer, and is credited with being the catalyst for the widespread loyalty schemes around today. There are several ways to earn Clubcard points: Outside of any special offers, you earn one point for every £1 you spend in store and online One point for every two litres of fuel at a Tesco Petrol Filling Station One point for every £3 spent on fuel at an Esso petrol station with a Tesco Express You can also earn points if you use Tesco Mobile or have a Tesco Bank credit card. Once you get to 250 points, Tesco sends you a voucher worth £2.50, or you can request a £1.50 voucher via the app or online once you get to 150 points. You can use the vouchers towards your next shop, or spend them with 100 Rewards Partners – such as Disney+, Legoland Windsor Resort or Virgin Atlantic Flying Club – and double the value. Rather than offering bonus points in store on certain products, Clubcard members get access to exclusive discounts. Tesco claims it could save shoppers up to £351 a year. Subscribers to Clubcard Plus, Tesco's premium scheme which costs £7.99 a month (after a one-month free trial), get 10pc off their in-store shopping twice a month, and 10pc off its F&F clothing range. Tesco says this could save shoppers up to £40 a month, or £480 a year. You can collect and spend Nectar points with more than 500 partners, including Sainsbury's, Argos, Habitat and British Airways. The 18 million Nectar members can use their Nectar card (physical or digital) to access Sainsbury's lower Nectar Prices in store and online, which works in a similar way to Tesco's scheme. Confusingly, Your Nectar Prices is something different. This offers shoppers unique discounts based on things they frequently buy, but only if they use the SmartShop app or handset. Each week you'll also be sent deals where you can earn bonus points for buying certain items, which vary depending on your shopping habits. Outside of any offers or bonus points, you earn one Nectar point per £1 spent in Sainsbury's stores and online, and on Sainsbury's fuel. One point is worth 0.5p – so half the value of Tesco Clubcard points. Points collected via other retailers vary; you can get up to 4 points per £1 for online purchases at TK Maxx via Nectar, while Lego offers 10 points per £1, and £7 points per £1 from Deliveroo. When it comes to spending your points, you can usually swipe your card at the till or put in your Nectar card number online with a participating retailer. You can get a small boost when you spend points with specific partners, such as Caffe Nero, where you can currently get any sized drink for 400 points, the equivalent of £2. You might also choose to spend points to get money off Eurostar bookings – 2,000 points are currently worth a £10 discount. Marks & Spencer's Sparks scheme had a revamp in July 2020, scrapping its points system in favour of personalised offers, gifts and random giveaways. The scheme has more than 17 million members. Rather than collecting points, the scheme offers the chance to receive offers and promotions tailored to your shopping habits. They could include discounts across M&S Foodhall items, such as £1 off whole chickens, 15pc off fruit and vegetables or £2 off a plant – as well as clothing, home and beauty deals. However, you'll need to add the offers or rewards you want to use before you go to the checkout for them to apply. If you scan your digital Sparks card when you buy a hot drink in an M&S cafe, you can start collecting stamps – collect six and you can get a hot drink free. You can also get a birthday treat if you add your date of birth to your Sparks profile, which could include a free pastry or pack of Percy Pigs. What's more, very week each M&S store gives one Sparks customer their shopping for free, while others can get other discounts and freebies. Finally, with every transaction, M&S will donate 1p to your chosen charity. The nine million customers signed up to the MyWaitrose loyalty scheme get freebies and discounts based on how you shop. You can get a free hot drink in-store (though some locations have minimum spend requirements), along with in-store discounts and personalised offers that change each week. In addition, you can get 20pc off selected meat counter items every Saturday, 20pc off selected fish at the counter every Friday, 20pc off the cheese counter every Thursday, and 5pc off dry cleaning at the welcome desk. Customers can also enter member-only competitions – current prizes include holidays, a Michelin-star dining experience, and a spa stay. While most of the major supermarkets offer paid-for options for those who regularly get deliveries, Ocado's Smart Pass is also a gateway to further offers. You can get free delivery (apart from between December 20-24), priority access to Christmas slots, access up to 50pc off sales, 10pc savings off specific products and a free gift every year. You can pay monthly, six-monthly or annually, and there are two plans to choose from. An Anytime Smart Pass costs £8.99 a month, £49.99 six-monthly, or £89.99 annually, where free delivery is on offer every day. The Midweek plan, which costs £4.99 a month, £27.99 six-monthly or £49.99 annually, offers free delivery between Tuesday and Thursday only. Whether you can justify the cost depends on how you shop. If your order is less than £75, Ocado charges a minimum £2.99 delivery fee, but you could pay up to £6.99 – which is almost what you'd pay for a month of deliveries with an Anytime Smart Pass. For larger orders, you may be offered free delivery even if you're not signed up to Smart Pass, in which case you might not see much benefit. Boots Advantage Space NK The high street chemist has made a number of changes to its loyalty scheme, including cuts to the points you can earn when buying some items. It has almost 17 million active members, according to Retail Week. The scheme allows Advantage members to earn three points for every £1 spent, worth 3p – prior to this, you could earn four points for every £1. If you collect enough points to cover your total, you can choose to pay with points – 1,000 points is equal to £10 to spend. Members can also access cheaper prices through the Price Advantage initiative, which works in a similar way to Nectar Prices and Clubcard Prices – and includes a 10pc saving on Boots own range products. You can earn points by either swiping your card in-store, or by using the Boots mobile app. Customers can still collect double points during their birthday month. While this had previously meant collecting eight points per £1 spent, this has now been reduced to six points per £1. Those signed up to the Boots Parenting Club and Over-60s Rewards will still be able to get eight points per £1 spent on baby products and on Boots own-brand products, respectively. The luxury beauty shop allows members of its 'Ndulge' scheme to earn one point for every £1 they spend. When you earn 100 points you get a £5 reward, which is redeemable online and in-store. This is the equivalent of 5pc cashback, which is a pretty generous offer. But be warned – you've only got three months to redeem the reward, and points only last 12 months. Other incentives include a 'surprise birthday gift', early access to sales, and invites to brand events and double points days. If you spend £1,000 in 12 months you'll be upgraded to a Deluxe member. This lets you collect double the rewards – 100 points is worth a £10 reward – and you'll get a full-size beauty gift on your birthday. If you fail to spend enough to qualify for Deluxe in the next year, you'll fall back to your standard status. Gail's Leon Roast Rewards PizzaExpress Club Club Prezzo Nando's Rewards Gail's loyalty programme lets you collect a loyalty stamp whenever you buy in one of its cafes or online. You'll get a stamp each time to make a purchase, with an extra stamp added to your collection if you spend more than £20. Once you collect nine stamps you can get a free drink or loaf of bread – but note that the reward will only be available for a limited time. You can also get a birthday treat in the form of a 'sweet treat from the Baker's Table' during your birthday month. Leon regulars could benefit from its Roast Rewards; a £25 monthly subscription which entitles you to five drinks a day (but only one coffee per hour), and 20pc off its breakfast and all-day food menu (not including meal deals). The PizzaExpress Club has three tiers, and you can rise up the ranks the more you visit. Bronze level gives you Dough Balls 'PizzaExpress' or a side for free, 25pc off a Piccolo children's meal and a birthday treat. Graduate to silver, and you can get free upgrades to a Romana base from Monday to Thursday, and half-price Piccolo meals. At Gold tier, you can have free hot or cold drinks each time you dine, 20pc off pizza-making parties, free Piccolo meals and free Romana upgrades all week. Prezzo's loyalty app is a relatively new offering and, at the time of writing, is giving app users the chance to claim selected pizza and pasta dishes for 99p. As soon as you sign up, you can get a free welcome gift of triple-cooked Nutella doughballs, member-only pricing and £10 off your next meal when you check in via the app. Rewards improve the more you visit, so you can also earn free birthday cake and further surprise gifts and special offers. The Nando's scheme lets you collect chillies each time you spend £7 or more, whether you eat in the restaurant, collect or get a takeaway – and you'll get a free one when you sign up to get you started. Rewards are up for grabs for collecting three, six and 10 chillies – the maximum reward lets you claim a free whole chicken (amongst lots of other options). Selfridges Plus Liberty Collective Selfridges shoppers can pay £10 a year for 12 months of free deliveries when you order online. This includes unlimited next day delivery in the UK (if you order before 9pm). For £75 a year, you can get Selfridges Plus Global with unlimited worldwide deliveries subject to minimum order values. You also get unlimited UK timed, nominated day and standard delivery on orders over £100 For an idea of how much you could save, were you to send a pair of £270 Mulberry leather gloves to Europe without being a member of Selfridges Plus, your delivery fees would start at £15, or £25 for the rest of the world. Someone from outside the EU could save money with Selfridges Plus by making just two orders a year. Customers who sign up to Liberty's loyalty programme earn five points per £1 spent. Once you get to 1,000 points (equivalent to spending £200) you'll earn a £10 voucher, which works out at 5pc cashback. You'll get your reward vouchers four times a year – in April, July, October and January. These will be based on how much you've spent over the previous three-month period. Any points that aren't converted into a voucher will be rolled forwards, and should be used in the next voucher you receive. The vouchers are valid for 12 months, and can be used in-store, online, or on personal shopping consultations. Liberty Collective members also get access to events, such as beauty masterclasses and talks, and a birthday treat. Andy Webb, of personal finance site Be Clever With Your Cash, said: 'Loyalty schemes are only worth it if you already shop at those retailers. 'Don't go out of your way to shop somewhere just because you can earn points or get discounts, unless there's an exceptional offer – and these are rare.' He suggests that Nectar, Tesco Clubcard and Boots Advantage schemes can be handy as they will always earn you something, plus you'll need to have signed up to them to qualify for the cheaper 'member' prices in store – which could save you a lot of money. But Mr Webb is less sold on others. He says discounts at other big supermarkets, such as Waitrose and M&S, are often linked to specific products, so you'll need to make sure you check your apps before shopping to see if it's even worthwhile swiping your card at the till. Mr Webb says: 'The personalised offers will make a difference to what you see, but it could also mean you're constantly given offers for things you only bought once, or only need irregularly.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Wales Online
13-05-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
Sainsbury's trials new SmartShop system that lets you skip checkouts entirely
Sainsbury's trials new SmartShop system that lets you skip checkouts entirely Sainsbury's is testing a new checkout-free service that allows shoppers to skip the tills and self-checkout queues entirely through their SmartShop devices Sainsbury's is set to revamp the shopping experience with a brand-new checkout-free initiative aiming to eliminate the need for customers to wait at tills or use self-service machines by utilising their innovative scan and shop technology. The cutting-edge trial is poised to launch in two Sainsbury's locations, as reported by The Grocer, with one store in Richmond and another in Kempton kick-starting the pilot programme. Under the new system patrons will be able to grab a SmartShop scanner upon entering, scanning items as they progress through their shopping. The seamless transition occurs when it's time to pay as customers can simply tap their payment card against the SmartShop scanner to pay for their bagged goods rather than queueing at a traditional checkout. For money-saving tips sign up to our Money newsletter here. Additionally shoppers will have the choice to print a receipt or get it emailed to themselves after which they return the device to the SmartShop dock and head out of the store. As this technology is still being refined reports indicate that the scanners currently cannot process staff discounts or accept physical Nectar cards, reports the Daily Star. Darren Sinclair, Sainsbury's future stores director, discussed the development with The Grocer, stating: "It's a bit more ergonomic. I think about this as trying to reduce friction, improve payment, and simplify the shopping journey as well as the future potential space." Article continues below Sainsbury's personnel may conduct spot checks on customers' baskets as part of efforts to counteract shoplifting and this SmartShop update is just a fragment of the supermarket's comprehensive checkout transformation initiated last year. In line with other innovative modifications taking place at the retailer AI-assisted video scanning technology is being trialled. These surveillance cameras have been installed in select outlets to monitor the checkout and packing zones for theft prevention. The specific locations where these cameras are operational haven't been disclosed nor has a decision been made about whether the system will be introduced across all Sainsbury's sites. Article continues below Pointing directly downwards the camera has the capability to identify unscanned items being placed into bags. Should such an event occur an alert pops up on the checkout screen advising: "Looks like that last item didn't scan. Please check that you scanned it correctly before continuing." The suite of innovations planned for the checkout overhaul is designed to "reduce friction" within the shopping environment, bolster security measures, and enhance the in-store experience for customers.
Western Telegraph
12-05-2025
- Business
- Western Telegraph
Sainsbury's introduces checkout-free payments in stores
The supermarket brand is currently running a trial that allows customers to pay for purchases using payment-enabled SmartShop handsets. Currently, the trial is being run at two stores, in Richmond and in Kempton and is in its very early test stages. The new checkout-free trial is said to 'reduce friction' for shoppers and follows a recent launch of AI cameras at self-checkouts to stop theft. Sainsbury's trials new checkout-free payment method Sainsbury's new pay with SmartShop handsets will allow customers to tap their card on the device to pay. According to The Grocer, once the payment has gone through, shoppers will be able to choose an emailed receipt or print a receipt at a physical bay. Once the payment has gone through, shoppers then just place the handsets back into the ports as they leave the store. Sainsbury's future stores director Darren Sinclair told The Grocer: 'I think about this as trying to reduce friction, improve payment and simplify the shopping journey, as well as the future potential space.' Sinclair added that he hopes the trial will encourage more people to use SmartShop, sharing that the devices allow them to see 'how people shop'. Recommended Reading Explaining: 'We don't see the physical customer, just see the heat, so we can see which ends are looked at, which screens are looked at and the flow around the store. 'That's massively insightful when we are working out store formats, or when we are doing Nectar screens for suppliers.' The new trial from Sainsbury's is still in the early stages, with shoppers only able to pay on devices and handsets unable to process colleague discounts or swipe a physical Nectar card.
South Wales Guardian
12-05-2025
- Business
- South Wales Guardian
Sainsbury's introduces checkout-free payments in stores
The supermarket brand is currently running a trial that allows customers to pay for purchases using payment-enabled SmartShop handsets. Currently, the trial is being run at two stores, in Richmond and in Kempton and is in its very early test stages. The new checkout-free trial is said to 'reduce friction' for shoppers and follows a recent launch of AI cameras at self-checkouts to stop theft. Sainsbury's new pay with SmartShop handsets will allow customers to tap their card on the device to pay. According to The Grocer, once the payment has gone through, shoppers will be able to choose an emailed receipt or print a receipt at a physical bay. Once the payment has gone through, shoppers then just place the handsets back into the ports as they leave the store. Sainsbury's future stores director Darren Sinclair told The Grocer: 'I think about this as trying to reduce friction, improve payment and simplify the shopping journey, as well as the future potential space.' Sinclair added that he hopes the trial will encourage more people to use SmartShop, sharing that the devices allow them to see 'how people shop'. Recommended Reading Sainsbury's shoppers slam changes at self-checkout tills Frustrated' Tesco customers threaten to 'stop shopping' over new security devices Lidl announces plans to open more than 40 new stores across the UK Explaining: 'We don't see the physical customer, just see the heat, so we can see which ends are looked at, which screens are looked at and the flow around the store. 'That's massively insightful when we are working out store formats, or when we are doing Nectar screens for suppliers.' The new trial from Sainsbury's is still in the early stages, with shoppers only able to pay on devices and handsets unable to process colleague discounts or swipe a physical Nectar card.
Wales Online
12-05-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
Sainsbury's makes huge checkout change so shoppers can 'skip queues'
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Sainsbury's has made a huge change to allow shoppers to 'skip the queues' at the tills. The supermarket giant has introduced a checkout-free experience at some stores. SmartShop allows customers scan as they shop and then bypass the traditional till area by simply tap their payment card on the provided device at the end. They can then choose whether to print a receipt or having it emailed. READ MORE: 'A school-run mum blocked my drive - her face was priceless when I took revenge' A recent report by The Grocer revealed the service was being trialled at two Sainsbury's stores - Richmond and Kempton. Darren Sinclair, Sainsbury's future stores director, told the publication: "It's a bit more ergonomic, I think about this as trying to reduce friction, improve payment and simplify the shopping journey, as well as the future potential space." Shoppers have had the chance to use the retailer's SmartShop app on their mobile phones since 2022, however the supermarket's research found people preferred using a physical scanner to conserve their phone's battery life. The current trial run by Sainsbury's is aimed at refining the concept to make it is as "user-friendly" as possible. However, the newly-introduced self-pay scanners were not yet able to process staff discounts or recognise physical Nectar cards, the Mirror reports. To minimise thefts, Sainsbury's said store staff would also occasionally carry out inspections to see what customers had in their baskets. It has also started implementing AI-powered video scanning systems in a few stores, with the anti-theft cameras focused on the checkout and packing areas. If an item was placed in a bag without being scanned, the video capturing this would then be played on the screen to the customer with a message stating: "Looks like that last item didn't scan. Please check you scanned it correctly before continuing." Sainsbury's has confirmed the use of these cameras in a small number of locations, however it has kept the specific stores under wraps. A supermarket spokeswoman told The Grocer: "We regularly review the security measures in our stores and our decisions to implement them are based on a range of factors, including offering our customers a smooth checkout experience."
