MILLIONS of shoppers are missing out on a share of £3billion in savings each year by failing to spend their loyalty points.
More than a quarter of loyalty points go unused each year, according to a new report from data firm Antavo.
It found that around 11.9% of loyalty points remain unspent, allowing shops to keep hold of the cash.
Loyalty points have become popular with shoppers in recent years as the rising price of food has put pressure on household budgets.
Meanwhile, supermarkets are increasingly using freebies, loyalty pricing and personalised rewards to encourage shoppers to remain loyal to them.
Major supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and the Co-op all offer points to customers who sign up to their loyalty schemes.
But many shoppers are unaware that the points have an expiry date, beyond which they are no longer valid.
Last month Tesco wrote to customers to warn them that their Clubcard vouchers will expire on February 28.
Meanwhile, in December Morrisons urged shoppers to grab their share of £30million in unspent vouchers.
If you are a member of a supermarket loyalty scheme then check your account regularly to avoid your points expiring.
It’s also important to keep your account active.
One way to do this is to make small purchases using your reward card and account.
Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s shoppers have been warned that they need to take action to lock their Nectar points after customers said their points had been stolen.
To do this log into your loyalty account and click “Lock or unlock spending”.
What is loyalty pricing?
You may have heard of loyalty pricing, but do you know what it is?
Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons are three supermarkets that offer customers signed up to their loyalty schemes exclusive discounts – known as loyalty pricing.
All three retailer’s schemes, Nectar Card, Clubcard and More Card, are free to sign up to as well.
The obvious advantage to loyalty pricing is that you can save potentially hundreds of pounds a year on your shopping, all without spending a penny.
But different supermarkets offer exclusive discounts on different products, so do some research before doing your shopping.
Either way, be wary of supermarkets artificially inflating prices to make it seem like you’re getting a better deal than you are.
A previous investigation by consumer group Which? found Sainsbury’s and Tesco have increased the price of everyday goods then slapped loyalty prices on them thinking customers wouldn’t notice.
Either way, it’s worth shopping around though.
Supermarkets change their prices all the time, sometimes multiple times daily, so it’s worth researching to ensure you’re getting the best price on an item.
You can use websites like Trolley to see how the major supermarket’s compare in terms of price on any number of goods.
