Photo on Woolworths
Supermarkets offer memberships with special point rewards to their customers. One of them is Woolworths, the leading grocery retailer in Australia. If you spend 2000 dollars at Woolworths supermarkets and other retails belong to the company, you can get a $10 discount on the next purchase.
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The question, is $10 simply a treat for being a loyal customer? Could it be a payment for something you give?
According to Sydney Morning Herald, supermarkets are using their big data they gathered from their members to understand their customers’ buying patterns. Besides, Financial Review says that companies such as Woolworths share their consumer data with research partners and suppliers.
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Have you received an email from Woolworths telling your favourite items are on specials? How exciting and you’ll visit the store for these purchases on these specials, even though you might not need them at the moment. This shows how Woolworths is using big data to create a marketing strategy and target their customers through personalised offers .
It seems that Woolworths membership program is highly valuable for their marketing success. While members may feel good for the tailored email and $10 discount, are they actually giving more valuable information to help the business?
Marketing through the Looking Glass 
I used to have membership card with Woolworth and always used them when I buy stuffs from their store with the thought that I might claim points for a discount someday. However, this did not happen and I stop using the membership card. After reading your article, I think I will have to check out the personalised special from my mailbox!
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Hi Candy. I see your point. As a member myself, I found the $10 redeem happens after months of purchase, which is a long time. I find I benefit more from their mail list. Their mail is customised to my purchase pattern, what favourite items are on promotion. After all, I think the $10 reward is an attractive point to many people to join the membership.
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Hi, thanks for bringing my favourite supermarket to your blog. I like Woolworths so much. I have an account from it and I always receive emails about some products that I like are half-price. I am excited about that because I can buy my favorite things with a bargain. However, do you think that providing customer’s information to research partners and suppliers will cause insecurity?
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Hi Anh. Great that you point out the security aspect of this membership. I know that the reward points and personal mail list make membership attractive to join. However, according to sources mentioned in my post above, companies use customers’ data for their research. We as customers need to be aware of this and then decide whether we agree with that.
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Hi Lora, I love going to Woolworths, even though I’m not a member yet. Their mail list sounds cool because they inform you about your favourite item promotions. Well, knowing that Woolworths use their members’ data for research purpose, the data now seem like the cost of $10 rewards.
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Hi Stella, I love Woolworths too! You have a good point saying that membership rewards seem like the cost of consumers’ data. One of the reasons companies such as Woolworths use the data is to understand their consumers’ better and then create a better marketing strategy. However, if you feel insecure about your information being shared, you can skip the membership. Another way to keep updated with your favourite item promotion is visiting their website and search for your items to check the price.
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I personally think 2000 points to 10 dollars is like a scam (lol) while Woolworths is making profit out of our personal data. Business who really want to feedback their customers don’t come up with ridiculous number like this.
One of my favorite bubble tea shops have a similar system but better. They give me a stamp card at the first time I purchase and I can get one stamp per purchase. When I get 10 points, I can get one free drink. And they never ask any of my personal detail. How dose the bubble tea one sound, Lora?
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The bubble tea shop uses stamp cards to keep their customers coming. Just like Woolworths membership card, they both attempt to attract their consumers. It’s clear that bubble tea shop does not keep your data. I think a shop like bubble tea does not really need a big data from consumers because they do not sell various products compared with a supermarket such as Woolworths. With the big data, companies like Woolworths can create customised marketing strategies that bubble tea shops do not necessarily need.
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