Tesco returns to vouchers after sales drop

Tesco is running a press ad campaign promoting a loyalty voucher initiative in an attempt to win back customers after reporting “disappointing” Christmas trading last week.

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The promotion is a move away from its recent price lead marketing under the Big Price Drop banner and uses the strapline “A Helping Hand from Tesco.”

Tesco is offering customers a £5 voucher for every £40 shop that can be redeemed against their next £40 shop. The ads appear in all national newspapers today (18 January).

Tesco’s move comes after the supermarket’s recent marketing strategy attracted heavy criticism from analysts and group CEO Philip Clarke admitted that the chain’s strategy before Christmas had failed.

Clarke said in last week’s trading update that Tesco had wrongly cut back on voucher activity before Christmas at the time when rivals were ramping it up.

The loyalty initiative mirrors a promotion run by Asda last year which also gave shoppers £5 off ever £40 spend in addition to its 10% cheaper price guarantee as a “Christmas bonus”.

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