Collect loyalty points in the supermarket
The question of a customer card has probably already been asked by every supermarket buyer. They can be used to collect bonus and loyalty points, which can later be exchanged for cash or discounts. But the fact is: With every purchase, the customer reveals more about his shopping behavior and thus gives out his data voluntarily.
Registration is simple: for most apps, it is sufficient to enter your e-mail address and name. The more often the app is then used, the more the supermarket chains can find out about the consumption habits of the users. So only consumers who are willing to disclose their own data can supposedly benefit.
Are digital loyalty cards even worth it?
The advantages of a digital customer card are obvious. On the one hand, there is no time-consuming registration process, but the customer can enter the data on their smartphone and get started. And even if the wallet is forgotten at home, the customer card is always ready to use on the cell phone.
Nevertheless, consumers should keep in mind that the bonus programs are a marketing strategy of the supermarket chains and that an alleged benefit can only be drawn from more shopping. Because whether a customer card is worthwhile depends on individual shopping behavior.
Loyalty cards tempt you to buy more
The more customers shop, the more points or discounts they get. The customer cards could therefore be an incentive to buy more than actually planned. However, most customer cards, such as the Payback card, also apply to other companies. With one card, points can be collected from many different providers. The points can then usually only be spent at the company where the customer card was also applied for.
In some cases, however, it is doubtful whether the expected premiums will actually live up to what has been promised. As a study by the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer advice center has shown, some loyalty campaigns include a large number of items that are offered at a significantly higher price. Consumers should therefore inform themselves in advance and compare prices on the Internet.
In addition, the bonus points must be redeemed within a certain period of time, otherwise the points that have been painstakingly accumulated expire and are worthless.
Editorial office finanzen.net
Image sources: LuckyImages / Shutterstock.com, Stokkete / Shutterstock.com