Safeway expands ABC with baby discount push

Safeway is offering a ten per cent discount on weekly shopping bills to families with babies under 12-months-old in the latest step in the supermarkets’ battle to attract young family shoppers.

The move comes shortly after the launch of Tesco’s Baby Club, offering a free magazine and 70m discounts to families of babies.

The Safeway scheme – the first of its kind – offers the new discount to customers who are members of its ABC loyalty programme. After showing proof of their baby’s age they can get the discount on minimum spending of 40, with a maximum of 10 per trip. The baby discount is valid for six months, or for up to 100 of discounts.

Marketing director Roger Partington says: “It is a continuation of the strategy we have pursued for the past three years from the launch of the Harry advertising. Safeway has clearly identified the family market and our market share is growing in that area.”

The offer will be backed by heavyweight advertising breaking on television this week, featuring a new baby brother for Molly. Mail-outs will be sent to 250,000 homes. Partington says that the offer will not prove too costly for Safeway, as the target group is quite small.