Safeway pits loyalty card against Tesco
Safeway is stoking the supermarket wars with the national launch of its ABC customer loyalty card. The scheme offers free products, services and third-party tie-ups to differentiate it from Tesco’s Clubcard.
The chain will unveil the card nationally on October 23 under the banner “ABC – the card of choice” with a 7m marketing budget to promote the card.
Advertisements will feature in the “Lightening the Load” television advertising campaign and it will be promoted in stores.
Safeway marketing director Roger Partington says customers can choose whether to redeem points, one awarded for each pound spent, against products, services or third-party offers.
He denies there is a loyalty war among supermarkets, but says: “This is the future – understanding customers better with a more accurate facility to meet their needs.”
Unlike Tesco, which uses direct marketing agency Evans Hunt Scott for its Clubcard, Safeway’s ABC card is being operated, and the data processed, in-house under brand director Roger Ramsden.
