The Co-op Group has announced its biggest ever single investment in pricing of £70m, as it extends its ‘member-only’ pricing across everyday essentials, launching with a list of nearly 200 fixed lines including milk, eggs and bread.
The Group says this is the biggest investment ever on pricing by a convenience retailer on pricing, offering lower member-only prices on the everyday essential products. The move gives the Group’s members a chance to save up to 11% on retail prices with Co-op British Milk one pint at 85p, six Co-op free range eggs at £1.40, and a Co-op sliced loaf at 76p.
Research by the retailer found members prefer lower prices on items they buy the most rather than loyalty pricing on an array of products which change every few weeks, as it makes the biggest difference to their regular food spend.
The investment includes a retail price reduction on more than 600 lines, ensuring they are in line or cheaper than other national convenience stores, and taking the total invested into Co-op prices this year to £90m overall.
Matt Hood, managing director of Co-op Food, said: “While food inflation is starting to slow, household budgets remain under huge pressure, so this major price investment will make a real and tangible difference for millions of Co-op customers and members.
“This £70m investment is the most significant ever made by a convenience retailer, allowing us to turbo charge our member pricing proposition for the millions of our members who shop with us every day, by tailoring the price cuts to those key lines we know our members buy the most.
“We are focused on delivering member-value in a way that will make the biggest difference to their weekly budgets, and I’m clear there should be no compromise on quality and value by shopping in convenience. This is not a loyalty scheme but rather the Co-op difference in action, whereby the people who own our business, our members, benefit every time they shop.”
The Group says the move is part of its efforts to support its members and their communities through the cost-of-living crisis while planning and investing for growth over the medium and longer-term. The investment has been made possible by the major cost savings and business improvements introduced over the past 12 months in the face of rising inflation and increased operational costs, it adds.
This move follows the introduction of ‘member only offers’ in April, whereby members can get exclusive lower priced promotions, an initiative which has seen nearly 40,000 new members sign up every month. The Group’s ambition is to grow its member base by a million more members over the next five years.
It says the member-only offers will continue, alongside member only pricing, which means a shopper could save on average £500 a year as a member.
The Group has also announced a change to its partnership with UberEats, which means members will be able to earn reward points on on deliveries by adding their Co-op Membership number into the UberEats app at checkout.
The move is a first for Uber Eats in the UK, and will be available from over 1,000 Co-op stores this month.
Chris Conway, the Group’s eCommerce director, said: “We are committed to developing fast and flexible options online to serve shoppers quickly, easily and conveniently. Our ambition to grow our membership base by one million over the next five years is supported by our compelling member-benefits programme. Our members lie at the very heart of the Co-op, and by building on our successful partnership with Uber Eats we are now able to create additional value for our Members and for local communities.”
Alex Troughton, head of commerce at UberEats UK, said: “It’s great to be able to build on our successful partnership with Co-op, and join forces to allow its members to earn rewards, and support local community causes and organisations when they use Uber Eats. This is all about using our unique technology to deliver exactly what people want, when they want it and enable them to help out community causes that matter to them.”
