The Journal - "Can consumers really opt out of supermarket loyalty schemes when some price differences are so big?"

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Can consumers really opt out of supermarket loyalty schemes when some price differences are so big?

Civil liberties campaigners say consumers have a right to consent to their data being collected – but when opting out means paying more, do we really have a choice?
www.thejournal.ie www.thejournal.ie

Can consumers really opt out of supermarket loyalty schemes when some price differences are so big?​

Civil liberties campaigners say consumers have a right to consent to their data being collected – but when opting out means paying more, do we really have a choice?
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Betteridge's law of headlines: "Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no."
 
balders93 said:
Betteridge's law of headlines: "Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no."
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Except that consumers obviously can opt out of supermarket loyalty schemes if they want. So the answer here is "yes"? But they might end up paying more by doing so.
 
Maybe I'm being naive here but I don't see the problem when as far as I can see my life and all its data is been collected 24/7 already
As far as I'm concerned most businesses I interact with collect some or all of my data so why should a supermarket be any different
Google I'd say tracks and collects nearly every action and transaction I make day in day out, 365 days of the year and I don't have an issue with it
I don't pay for all the excellent services/products that I use on the understanding that to them I am the product!!
 
Marmite aside does it matter if supermarkets know your preferences? And use that data to send you offers in their shop?
I’d quite like to know if there are new products or new flavours etc. And I’m all for special offers being presented to me rather than me hunting around the shop in search of the dopamine rush from finding a special offer I an interested in.
And I don’t care if someone sees me buying extra soft loo roll and concludes that I have a delicate posterior. No more than if they looked in my trolley and saw it.

And loyalty programs do influence my shopping, Dunnes app will tell me if I have vouchers ready to expire so if I’m heading to buy groceries I’m more likely to go there than Tesco at that point in time. But it’s only one factor. The weather and access to a covered car park are bigger influences! I feel it’s a symbiotic relationship. They give me a discount and I let them record what I buy. They are recording the sale anyway for stock control, this is another piece of data. Theres no coercion in my case.
 
I have a Tesco clubcard but it isn’t registered so I can get the discounts in the store without them tracking every element of my spending habits. I just forfeit the value of the points
 
I don't care what Dunnes Stores take note of our purchases. It's not a dramatic interference to our privacy. While they continue to give €10.00 off from a €50.00 purchase, I'll continue to shop there.
 
The issue to my mind is not so much them knowing your data, but that they actively price higher to 'force' people into using these schemes, which pushes up the base cost of everything. Dunnes are not giving back 10 euro vouchers out of the goodness of their heart - they're just fleecing you upfront to give it back.
 
I can’t say I’ve noticed too many offers in Tesco for card holders only, it wouldn’t bother me too much. I have often signed up for loyalty schemes to get discounts etc, it’s a choice. Like shopping in woodies on certain days..
I do find the paper vouchers from Tesco annoying, as I rarely shop there I get the odd one in the post for maybe a fiver, so I leave it to one side… then find it again a week after expiration. My own fault of course but it’s an irritant. Who uses paper? They should have an electronic option.
 
barrabus said:
hey actively price higher to 'force' people into using these schemes, which pushes up the base cost of everything. Dunnes are not giving back 10 euro vouchers out of the goodness of their heart - they're just fleecing you upfront to give it back.
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Reports indicate that overall supermarket profit margins are generally in the range of 2% -3%. They make their profit by volume more than margin. I would think the schemes are to maintain and/or drive volume.
 
barrabus said:
Dunnes are not giving back 10 euro vouchers out of the goodness of their heart - they're just fleecing you upfront to give it back.
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Not in my experience, in fact I've found Dunnes to be the same price as the Lidl on many products and that's before the voucher

rustbucket said:
@Cervelo they might find out you like marmite
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D'know, I don't think I've ever had or tasted Marmite or at least to the best of my memory, must ask Mrs C to put it on the shopping list
 
Corola said:
You can change to online vouchers through your online account.
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In Tesco if you self scan , the discount vouchers now appear on the scanner at the till. Gives you the option to use them now or later and also tells you the expiry. I think the vouchers appear only if they are relevant to your shop.
 
Not the immediate vouchers, the real ones, ie €5 value. Not discounts.

Although I’ve moved them to collect avios points now anyway
 
Cervelo said:
Not in my experience, in fact I've found Dunnes to be the same price as the Lidl on many products and that's before the vouche
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Impossible to make comparisons for their own brand products though, whereas in Tesco you can certainly see (increasingly wider and wider) regular v Clubcard price differentials and to my mind these muddy-the-water schemes - forcing people to spend more to get a tenner off etc - are borderline sharp practice since there's no 'standard' pricing anymore.
 
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