Sainsbury’s has just announced changes to their Nectar loyalty programme. And for the eagle-eyed shoppers among us, their new scheme looks somewhat similar to the Tesco Clubcard pricing, where you get the best prices in-store and online when you use your loyalty card.
Sainsbury’s Nectar Prices will offer lower prices for every loyalty programme customer and extra personalised prices based on your shopping habits.
Initially, Sainsbury’s will lower prices on over 300 items in-store and online. This will further be expanded throughout the supermarket with savings on household products, pet food and confectionary items.
Tesco previously introduced a similar style of loyalty programme in 2020 with the launch of Clubcard pricing. It has proven to be very popular with customers who want to avail of the sometimes significant discounts when making purchases with their Clubcard App.
Recently, rival supermarkets Asda and Tesco have also significantly overhauled their loyalty scheme and their respective apps. The new Tesco Grocery and Clubcard App and the Asda Rewards App are the latest tools, the supermarkets are using to entice us to spend more while saving on our shop.
Saving over 50% with the Nectar Prices
Since the start of April, Sainsbury’s launched “Nectar Prices”, which will give over 18 million Nectar card holders savings on hundreds of products available in-store and online. Nectar Prices are only available when you present your Nectar Card or App at the till. Online customers will require a Nectar-linked account.
Nectar Prices have launched with some significant savings for Nectar customers. These include:
| Product | Nectar Price | Usual Price | Discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aperol Aperitivo 70cl | £10.00 | £16.00 | 38% |
| Corona Extra 12x330ml | £9.00 | £14.00 | 36% |
| Ariel All-in-1 pods washing liquid capsules original (39 washes) | £5.00 | £10.50 | 52% |
| Coke Zero 24x330ml | £5.00 | £10.00 | 50% |
| Nescafe Gold Blend signature jar 200g GB | £4.00 | £8.10 | 51% |
| Elvive Colour Protect Shampoo 400ml | £2.50 | £4.50 | 44% |
| Elvive Colour Protect Conditioner 300ml | £2.50 | £4.50 | 44% |
| Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut 720g | £3.75 | £4.80 | 22% |
| Heinz Baked Beans Tomato Sauce 415g | £0.95 | £1.40 | 32% |
| Oral-B Pro 3 3500 Cross Action Black (+Travel Case) | £45.00 | £100 | 55% |
How to save money with Nectar Prices
Nectar Prices are automatically available to all Nectar cardholders. You must scan your Nectar card or app at the till to save. Customers shopping online will have their discounts applied automatically if their Nectar and Sainsbury’s accounts are linked.
For those who don’t already have a Nectar account, you can sign up for this on the Nectar site. If you don’t have a physical Nectar card, then you can easily download the Nectar Card app on your smartphone.
Extra savings for Nectar cardholders
At the launch of the Nectar Prices, Sainsbury’s announced that they are currently the only retailer to offer the combination of lower prices for every loyalty customer through their Nectar Prices and extra personalised discounts with “Your Nectar Prices”
Each week, with Your Nectar Prices, customers will be able to find personalised lower prices with up to 30% off products specifically tailored to them.
Simon Roberts, Chief Executive Officer at Sainsbury’s, said: “We are delighted to launch Nectar Prices, which will help millions of our customers save more on every trip to Sainsbury’s. Our customers really are at the heart of every decision we make and we hope they find that Nectar Prices is an exciting way to bring them consistently great value all year round.”
Customers can sign up for Nectar Prices by joining Nectar online at www.nectar.com, on the Nectar app, or by picking up a Nectar card in-store.
Drawbacks to the Nectar Prices loyalty scheme
The main drawback to the Nectar Prices scheme launched by Sainsbury’s is that it charges more for those who aren’t Nectar cardholders or who forget their Nectar card.
Forgetting your Nectar card or other supermarket apps can significantly increase the cost of your impromptu shop. Personally, I had a recent stop at a supermarket and because I had no card with me, the cost was 30% more expensive than expected.
The other huge drawback for those cynics among us surrounds the data the supermarkets are collating on our spending habits. Make no mistake, supermarkets are enticing you to use their apps to gather personalised data on your shopping habits. They then are able to sell this data to third parties or use it to increase your spending with them.
Final thoughts on Nectar Prices
Shopping the offers is a great way to manage your budget and for those money savers among us, they are often the best way to avail of the best prices the shops have to offer.
Supermarket loyalty schemes are here to stay and you can choose to embrace them or ignore them entirely. The choice is yours.
