Major update on loyalty prices at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose, Co-op

Watchdog analyses 50,000 products at supermarkets to see if they do offer genuine savings

Loyalty pricing at UK supermarkets does offer "genuine savings" for customers, although it's not always the best deal out there, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has revealed

After an analysis of 50,000 loyalty-priced products, the CMA discovered that 92% did provide discounts on the regular price. Shoppers could bag themselves up to 25% off by opting for loyalty priced items, the regulator pointed out.

However, the CMA was keen to highlight that while these discounts are "legitimate", savvy shoppers might still snag cheaper deals elsewhere. The watchdog also noted that supermarkets could improve how they let people join loyalty schemes, especially for those without smartphones and under-18s.

Suggestions from the CMA include offline sign-up options and reducing the minimum age for scheme membership. George Lusty, interim executive director of consumer protection at the CMA, commented: "We know many people don’t trust loyalty card prices, which is why we did a deep dive to get to the bottom of whether supermarkets were treating shoppers fairly.

"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 these discounts are legitimate, our review has shown that loyalty prices aren’t always the cheapest option, so shopping around is still key."

This was the statement made in relation to loyalty price promotions, which are part of loyalty schemes where customers can sign up to access lower prices, personalised rewards and offers, and loyalty points. The CMA analysed the loyalty pricing of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose and Co-op.

They were investigating whether non-member, or regular, prices may have been artificially inflated by supermarkets to make their loyalty price appear more attractive. It was found that shoppers can make an average saving of 17% to 25% by buying loyalty priced products across the five chains in the review.

However, many shoppers do not trust the discounts on offer, with more than half (55%) of people thinking usual prices are upped to make loyalty deals more appealing, according to the CMA. Over three quarters (76%) of people said loyalty pricing had not changed where they shop but almost a quarter (24%) compare prices more due to the introduction of loyalty pricing.

There are also concerns among shoppers over access to loyalty pricing, with 43% of those surveyed saying they believe it is unfair that members of these schemes pay lower prices for some products than those without membership. As part of the wide-ranging review, the CMA also looked at the way supermarkets collect and use people’s data when they sign up to loyalty schemes.

Sue Davies, head of food policy at Which? commented on the lack of evidence for broken consumer law but stressed concerns about loyalty pricing practices. She stated: "Which? has also looked at prices for thousands of products and repeatedly found examples of loyalty price offers that aren’t as good as they seem.

"We have also raised concerns that millions of consumers are being excluded from accessing lower prices due to loyalty scheme restrictions."

She concluded with a call to action for supermarkets: "It’s therefore essential that supermarkets act on the CMA’s recommendation and do more to enable people to join their schemes."