Australian shoppers are getting lower rewards

A DEPRESSING graph proves Australian shoppers are getting a raw deal from Coles and Woolworths’ reward card programs.

WHY do overseas shoppers have all the fun?

Not only do Australian consumers pay more for their goods than their British and American counterparts, but our rewards programs are markedly stingier.

In an analysis by review website Finder shows, our major supermarkets failed to measure up to overseas chains like UK chemist chain Boots and Tesco entertainment, where loyalty customers receive a generous four per cent return on their purchases — eight times the measly 0.5 per cent offered by Coles and Woolworths.

American grocery store chain Ralphs and chemist chain Walgreens offer a one per cent return, double that of Coles and Woolworths, as do UK supermarket Tesco and Ireland’s Dunnes Stores.

Even Countdown, New Zealand’s equivalent of Woolworths, has us licked with a 0.75 per cent return on money spent at its supermarkets.

Finder insights manager Graham Cooke said that while Australian rewards programs had improved, local shoppers were still missing out.

“It’s worth remembering that there’s one clear benefactor if you use your rewards card every time you shop: the supermarket,” Mr Cooke said.

“The retail giants collect huge volumes of data on everything you buy and use this data to try and sell you more stuff.”

Given the value of this information, he said shoppers might want to leave their rewards cards at home until Coles and Woolworths upped their game.

REWARDS CARD BACKFLIP

Woolworths sparked a heated backlash when it overhauled its rewards program in 2015, controversially scrapping Qantas frequent flyer points in favour of “Woolworths Dollars” that could only be earned on select, orange-ticketed items.

The supermarket last year reverted to a simpler “spend money, get vouchers” rewards program that is substantially identical to rival Coles.

Customers earn one point per dollar spent and receive a $10 voucher once they have accumulated 2,000 points — equating to a 0.5 per cent return, the same as they do at Coles.

HOW OVERSEAS RETAILERS COMPARE

British retailer Tesco has a ‘Clubcard’ that has been on the market since the mid-90s. Customers earn one point per £1 spent, and every 100 points are convertible into a £1 voucher — resulting in a 1 per cent basic return, double what’s on offer to Australians.

Outside of the supermarket, points can also be spent on a specific restaurant, pub, theme park or family entertainment voucher, with the value returned quadrupling to an impressive 4 per cent.

Boots chemist chain in the UK offer a similar scheme, with four points earned per pound. A £1,000 spend would net you £40 in vouchers — also a 4 per cent return.

SuperValu and Dunnes Stores in Ireland also offer a 1 per cent return on basic in-store spends, as do California-based grocery retailer Ralphs and convenience chemist Walgreens in the United States.

Woolworths-owned NZ chain Countdown rewards customers with one point for every $10 spent, with 200 points to convert into a $15 voucher — representing a return of 0.75.

HOW TO BOOST POINTS

A Coles spokesman said members of its Flybuys rewards program typically earned double the base rate, by taking advantage of tailored offers.

The retailer uses the data gleaned from its rewards program to offer shoppers deal such as double points from product categories it knows the person buys regularly.

“Members can also double the rate at which they earn points by taking out one of Coles’ insurance products, or signing up for a Coles Rewards Mastercard — earning two points for every dollar they spend, regardless of where they shop,” he said. “And these rewards stack on top of each other.”

Flybuys members also earn rewards on purchases from partners including Adidas, AGL, Budget, AHM, Etihad, Fitbit, Garmin, Kmart, Goodlife Health Clubs, Kleenheat, Virgin, OPSM Medibank.

A Woolworths spokeswoman said members of its rewards program was “​popular with our customers and highly competitive when compared to ​other international and local supermarket programs” when the total value of its offers was considered.

Woolworths Reward members also get tailored bonus point offers ​and special discounts, as well as four cents-per-litre fuel discounts.

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