Waitrose rolls out ‘game changing’ alternative to mass discounting – ‘Pick Your Own Offers’
Waitrose has rolled out what it has claimed to be a game-changing, industry first – a scheme letting customers pick the groceries they want to save money on.
Open to myWaitrose card holders – the supermarket’s loyalty scheme – customers can pick 10 items out of nearly 1,000 products available that they want a 20 per cent discount on. The list of items was selected from the most popular items Waitrose customers usually put in their shopping baskets and will offer a combination of branded and own-brand groceries.
The myWaitrose scheme currently has over five million members, with 70 per cent of Waitrose sales made using a myWaitrose card.
The supermarket called it “game-changing” and comes as the grocery sector continues to be disrupted by discounters like Lidl and Aldi which have steadily eroded market share.
“We know from the success of myWaitrose that customers like straightforward deals they can trust that are relevant to them. ‘Pick Your Own Offers’ goes one step further by putting them in control,” said Mark Price, managing director, Waitrose.
Pick Your Own Offers will be on top of Waitrose Brand Price Match, which will continue to match Tesco on branded products.
Price continued: “Different forms of personalised marketing have been around since the 1990s, but we’re introducing mass customisation in grocery. Customers can choose what’s valuable to them when they shop for groceries. We really are giving power to the consumer.”
‘Big Four’ rivals Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons have all invested millions into discount programmes in a bid to woo customers through their doors. Currently, around 40 per cent of groceries (by revenue) in Great Britain are sold on promotions.
However, the tactics came under fire recently with consumer watchdog Which? blasting them as “dodgy” and confusing to customers.
Waitrose, which was also shamed in the Which? report, has put a detailed explanation of the ‘Pick Your Own Offers’ scheme on its website.
The scheme was trialled in five stores earlier this year and will be rolled out nationwide and online from today (17 June).