In the run-up to Christmas, Central England Co-operative will be rewarding customers for shopping in its stores.
The initiative forms part of the society’s Because of You campaign, which aims to highlight how shopping at Central England helps boost the local economy. The retailer will give away over 2,000 gifts to shoppers who visit its stores between 5 December and Christmas Eve.
Customers will receive a special ticket featuring a unique code as they go through the till. They will then have to enter the code online to receive one of 20,000 rewards from Co-op mince pies to food vouchers. Customers will also be entered into a prize draw for a £3,000 holiday.
Martyn Cheatle, chief executive of the co-op, said: “We really wanted to say thank you to our customers and members who have supported throughout the year.
“Our Because of You campaign is all about showcasing how when people shop with us it allows us to then to make a real difference by investing in our communities.
“It allows us to give back by supporting food banks, sending unsold food to local charities, investing hundreds of thousands of pounds in community projects and installing lifesaving defibrillators.
“Because of you we can continue to have a major impact and this is our way to give something back and say thank you to our shoppers.”
Recent research by the co-op revealed that customers tend to rush to convenience stores to stock up in the lead up to Christmas.
Christmas products most in demand were wrapping paper, greeting cards, turkeys, ham joints, Christmas dinner vegetables, Christmas confectionery and desserts, alcohol, brandy butter and crackers.
Head of product & category Martin Hill said: “While it is not surprising that fresh foods and other products strongly associated with Christmas are purchased in the last few shopping days between 22 and 24 December, customers can plan well ahead for many other popular items which are often needed and are easily forgotten. It makes sense to stock up early on store cupboard items and non-food products to help prevent distress purchases over the festive period.”
Central England Co-op runs over 400 trading outlets across 16 countries.
