Your Co-op Rewards – Pilot Launch

On Monday we will launch a pilot of Your Co-op Rewards, a new way to give meaningful rewards to our members and encourage spend across our groups.  Members will collect digital stamps on our new Your Co-op Rewards app or website - one stamp for every £10 they spend with us on food or utilities. They can save their stamps to get access to exclusive rewards like great deals on holidays or special treats for the Christmas table. 

It starts with our strategy

Delivering our co-operative difference includes growing our membership base and increasing the proportion of total sales attributable to members. This includes the development of unique membership rewards as well as greater involvement in business decisions through new engagement channels.

One-third of our overall trade is with our membership today. We aim to increase this to over half by 2025.  We believe that to increase our membership base, encourage a greater level of spending and increase participation with more of our groups, we need a clear purpose for our membership for the longer term which builds upon our ‘imagined future’ and considers the changing landscape in which our businesses are operating.

 

Your Co-op Rewards – What is it?

On Monday we will launch a pilot of Your Co-op Rewards, a new way to give meaningful rewards to our members and encourage spend across our groups.  Members will collect digital stamps on our new Your Co-op Rewards app or website - one stamp for every £10 they spend with us on food or utilities.  They can save their stamps to get access to exclusive rewards like great deals on holidays or special treats for the Christmas table. The app also includes a virtual membership card which can be accepted and scanned at any of our food stores.

 

The Pilot Areas

The pilot of Your Co-op Rewards will run in two areas – one in the Cotswolds and one in Walsall.  Members who live in the catchment areas for the following stores will be invited to take part.

• Cotswolds: Chipping Norton, Charlbury, Milton under Wychwood

• Walsall: Walsall Town Centre, Fullbrook, Park Hall, Sutton Road

Our food and travel colleagues in the pilot areas are the first to use Your Co-op Rewards and will get an early release just for them on Wednesday 5^th August.

 

The Rewards

Our Travel business have sourced some great rewards that members can choose from once they have enough stamps.  For instance, there’s a UK hot tub heaven, a four-night break in a woodland leisure park and spa - with a hot tub, of course.  Or how about a once in a lifetime trip to see the Northern Lights or a city break in Budapest?  Members who prefer to stay at home can save their stamps for treats for the Christmas table.

 

 

Building relationships

We are also looking to give members relevant offers they can use straight away and build reasons to shop with us rather than elsewhere. For instance, we have some great prices on selected wines to get people into store and prize draws to keep them visiting and collecting stamps. That’s a deal that will get members into stores, but it also showcases our values and gives them a reason to come back. 

When we are creating offers, we will be thinking about how we can use them to build a relationship - not just a one-off offer for a great deal but a follow up to build engagement.  That level of thinking will make us different and sow the seeds for true loyalty.  

 

What’s next?

The next few months will see us using our pilot in the Cotswolds and Walsall to learn what really engages our members.  Then we can launch it with all our members confident that we have something that truly delivers our co-operative difference.

For more information please see here.