Co-op: Addressing shopper price-perceptions of the convenience offer with Member Prices

As the cost-of-living challenges continue to impact shoppers, loyalty schemes have come to the fore as a way for retailers to offer enhanced value to their shoppers. ?All the major UK food & grocery retailers, bar the discounters, now offer some form of direct-value benefits as part of a loyalty programme.

Membership is the long-term loyalty component of the Co-op proposition, and in April 2023 it launched ‘Member Prices’, bringing a significant new dimension of value to the programme and representing a major pillar in Co-op’s ambition to grow membership numbers by one million over the next five years.

Now in August Co-op has announced the investment of ￡70m into the ‘Member Prices’ mechanic, extending it across nearly 200 everyday essential lines including milk, eggs, bread, chicken, and bacon. This will enable members to save up to 11% on standard prices which could amount to a saving of ￡500 on average a year.

This is a major step in addressing shopper price-perceptions of the convenience offer, which is widely seen as being more expensive than larger stores. In addition, this move is also bringing value to the convenience shopper in a form that really matters, reinforcing mission-related mechanics such as meal deals with the new membership price-point.

Bringing to life the Co-op Difference, Kenyatte Nelson, Chief Membership & Customer Officer at Co-op, will be speaking at the Co-op Trade Briefing from IGD on 14 September to dive into the membership proposition and why being member owned really matters.

“The Co-op Group is a fundamentally different business... we are owned by and run for our member-owners, rather than a group of shareholders. The more our member-owners engage with us, the more value we create for members and for member communities. For us, this is far greater than the creation of a ‘me-too’ loyalty scheme. We are doubling down on the creation of an ecosystem that will be both irresistible and indispensable because of our relentless focus on member value creation, across every Co-op business and every Coop member touchpoint.”

Learn more about the Co-op Pure Convenience strategy at the 2023 Trade Briefing from IGD on 14 September in Manchester. Full details and tickets are available here: https://www.igd.com/Events/IGD-Co-op-Trade-Briefing/?utm_source=Content&utm_medium=Marketing