All means are good to reduce the amount of pain. With sky-high prices in supermarkets, consumers are looking for bargains more than ever. In 2022, the weight of promotional purchases thus reached an unprecedented level in more than 13 years. According to NielsenIQ, specials accounted for 21.7% of food chain sales, up nearly three points in two years.
Among the tools available to consumers, there is one that has been an insolent success in the last year: the loyalty card. Surveyed retail brands claim to have gained a record number of inserts since prices soared on the shelves.
Leclerc claims the largest base of inserters
Carrefour is pleased to have gained 200,000 new members in 2022 for a total of 14 million cards. On E.Leclerc’s side, we claim to have the largest fan base with more than 15.5 million users. At Intermarché, 250,000 new customers applied for their card last year for a total of close to 10 million.
If some brands do not report the total number of insertions, they also claim to be growing strongly.
Prize pool jumps 18%
Now, according to data from panelist NielsenIQ, 80% of French consumers have a card from a major food retailer.
These cards allow you to make cash prizes, that is, accumulate virtual money by buying products to spend later in the store. Since the promotions are more framed in the Egalim law, consumers are even more sensitive to these types of bargains.
And with the return of inflation, it’s even exploding.
In other words, the products in the catalog that allow you to accumulate points on the card are today the number 1 priority for customers.
To retain customers who are more likely to compete, brands do not hesitate to “push” their card at checkout, such as Auchan, which now systematically offers it to its customers.
It is also the sign of the Mulliez group that has made the most changes to its programming in the last year. “Waaoh” card holders are now entitled to a 5% jackpot on all Auchan brand products, but also 10% on Auchan’s 800 organic products, 10% on baby food, 5% in food for animals or even 10% for students from 10 euros. purchase in food and beauty hygiene.
Priority to private brands
A different strategy by E.Leclerc that favors rotating offers. Thus, from the 1st to the 7th of each month, E.Leclerc offers 10% in a fresh section (fruit and vegetables, meat, cheese, fish) that changes every month. On Wednesdays the jackpot can go up to 34% on a selection of products and every Tuesday it is 30% on products from a brand from the world of babies.
For Carrefour, the card is becoming a promotional tool for its own brand products. The distributor offers hundreds of Carrefour brand products with discounts of up to 34% on food. Especially since 2021, it offers a subscription at 5.99 euros per month that gives access to the 15% jackpot on all its private brands (MDD).
A priority for own brands that concerns the entire distribution more broadly. At Intermarché, the loyalty program evolved in this direction last July with a card advantage of 5 to 10% discount on more than 1,800 products from its distributor brands Pâturages, Monique Ranou, Paquito and Chabrior. To benefit from the 10% advantage, it is necessary to spend at least four times in the store.
After a relatively modest gain of 0.8 points in 2022 (33.6% of sales), private labels should grow strongly this year.
Lidl’s spectacular success
But in the loyalty section, the most spectacular success in recent years has been the Lidl Plus card. Launched in 2021 alone, this show has already gained more than 7.7 million followers based on the discount. Thanks in particular to a 5% reduction on the entire shopping cart to be used once a month. An offer that ended in 2022 and that the discounter says that it does not want to renew at the moment.
Unlike other cards, Lidl Plus is 100% digital and comes in the form of an app. A priori less expensive in promotions than the cards of other brands (some twenty promotions in the application but which are personalized), Lidl Plus offers a whole series of services such as the location of the stores, the digitized ticket history, the catalogs of the brand, but also scratch tickets to win products on each visit.
Since the launch of its card in 2021, Lidl has gained 0.8 market points in any case, the highest growth of all distribution in France.
Source: BFM TV
