2010.02.17

An increasing number of supermarket chains are using loyalty cards as a means of retaining customers, an expert has observed.

Jasmine Birtles, founder of moneymagpie.com, emphasised that it is a very cheap way in which retailers can make sure they keep consumers on side.

"To get the kind of information they get from using the loyalty card would normally cost them hundreds of thousands of pounds," she highlighted.

Vouchers which are sent out using the customer databases prove popular, the expert said, as people feel they are getting something in return for their purchases.

She revealed that around 80 per cent of the vouchers which are distributed will be used, which proves a success for the retailers.

Stephen Robertson, director general at the British Retail Consortium, recently suggested that consumer confidence will remain restrained until after the general election.

It is only then that people will be able to assess what the impact is on their finances and day-to-day living, he revealed.