The CMA reviewed 50,000 loyalty priced items sold in Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Co-op and Morrisons stores.
These findings make interesting reading, given that 55% of people believe ‘usual’ prices are increased in order to make loyalty deals look more appealing.
Meanwhile, 76% of shoppers said that loyalty pricing has not changed where they shop.
However, the CMA concluded that shoppers can make an average saving of 17% to 25% by purchasing loyalty priced products from the five retailers it investigated.
Some shoppers remain excluded from these savings though, such as those without smart phones and the elderly who have been able to take advantage of loyalty schemes.
As part of its review, the CMA also looked at how supermarkets collect and use personal data when people sign up to a loyalty scheme, but the organisation did not see evidence of consumer law concerns.
George Lusty, interim executive director of consumer protection at the CMA, said that the review was undertaken because of a growing understanding that many people do not trust loyalty card prices.
“We did a deep dive to get to the bottom of whether supermarkets were treating shoppers fairly,” Lusty added.
“After analysing tens of thousands of products, we found that almost all the loyalty prices reviewed offered genuine savings against the usual price – a fact we hope reassures shoppers throughout the UK.”
While 92% of discounts are legitimate, Lusty warned that loyalty priced items are not always the cheapest option.
He continued: “Shopping around is still key. By checking a few shops, you can continue to stretch your hard-earned cash.”
‘Findings are reassuring’
Head of food policy at Which?, Sue Davies, said that the CMA’s findings provided some good news for consumers given the uncertainty that surrounds loyalty schemes.
“Two-tier loyalty pricing has become a common practice across retailers,” Davies told Food Manufacture.
“It’s therefore reassuring that the CMA has found that most of the prices it looked at across supermarkets offered genuine savings against the usual price. However, it stresses that it is worth shopping around as they aren’t always the cheapest option.”
Davies explained that Which? has also looked at the prices of thousands of grocery products and often found examples of loyalty price offers that “aren’t as good as they seem”.
She continued: “We have also raised concerns that millions of consumers are being excluded from accessing lower prices due to loyalty scheme restrictions. It’s therefore essential that supermarkets act on the CMA’s recommendation and do more to enable people to join their schemes.
“The CMA should continue to monitor loyalty pricing practices across key consumer sectors beyond supermarkets and be ready to use its new powers to take action against retailers that don’t comply with consumer law.”
