Tesco slashes direct mail spend for Clubcard scheme

Tesco is planning to axe tens of millions of direct mailpacks a year after automatically switching quarterly Clubcard statements from post to email as it attempts to boost take up of the Clubcard app.

The supermarket giant is notifying customers of the changes through an email campaign going out this week to the scheme’s 16 million members. It has also signed up millions of customers to a new monthly email newsletter.

Customers can still get mailings – for the time being at least – but they have to specifically ask for their vouchers to be sent this way by going into their online account and changing their settings.

The writing has been on the wall for the quarterly mailshots since last year, when Tesco launched the “faster vouchers” scheme. This allows members to request vouchers online or via the app, without having to wait up to three months for rewards to arrive.

The points are then turned into vouchers within 24 hours and can be downloaded and printed, or redeemed in-store via a mobile phone.

Clubcard mailings have been a mainstay of the programme since its launch in 1995 but the cost of mailing 16 million customers four times a year is a huge. By reducing that outlay, it is understood that Tesco will instead use direct mail more tactically.

However, the company has already stated that the Clubcard app, which was relaunched in 2017, is “the future”. Back in April, Tesco revealed it had seen a 34% increase in activity on its loyalty scheme – shoppers claiming or redeeming loyalty points – over the previous year.

Even so, its latest plan to launch Clubcard Plus, a £7.99 a month subscription service which enables customers to get extra discounts on shopping,as well as double their mobile data allowance, has not gone down so well.