By Michael Susin


The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority said it found evidence that consumers participating in loyalty schemes can almost always save money by buying loyalty-priced grocery products.

The regulator on Wednesday said it reviewed around 50,000 grocery products on with loyalty price promotions, and said that in 92% of cases, these products offered savings against the usual price.

The CMA said it has found very little evidence that supermarkets could be inflating prices to make loyalty promotions seem like a better deal.

Despite these offers being generally some of the cheapest available, the regulator warned that it wasn't always the case and recommended that consumers shop around. Shopping around could lead to an average savings of 17% to 25% when buying loyalty-priced products at the five supermarkets examined.

The findings bring relief to grocers such Tesco and Sainsbury's, who have been relying on loyalty schemes to attract more shoppers, and as part of their fights against discounters Aldi and Lidl, AJ Bell investment analyst Dan Coatsworth said.

"Had the CMA found improper behaviour around loyalty promotions, it could have thrown a spanner in the works and derailed one of the main cogs in their operating strategy," Coatsworth added.

The CMA launched a review of these schemes in January 2024, following a period where grocers focused on loyalty schemes and offering their own branded products to stimulate sales as consumers faced cost-of-living pressures, including from high food and energy costs.


Write to Michael Susin at michael.susin@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-27-24 0636ET