Our part in the Tesco Clubcard phenomenon
For a number of years now, dunnhumby has been instrumental in the development and operation of Tesco’s Clubcard, a modern form of loyalty scheme that has been a major influence for this retail giant over the past decade. When we first started working with Tesco they were the number two supermarket chain in the UK. Today, the company is one of the world’s largest and most successful retailers.

Since 1995, when the scheme was first introduced, Tesco has outstripped the competition and achieved number one supermarket status in the UK, as well as successfully entering new markets, including home electronics, clothing and personal finance. Tesco also operates as the UK’s only financially successful grocery e-tailer.

It was Tim Mason, now the group’s board marketing director, who first identified the opportunity to sell more than fresh food and chilled meals to millions of card- carrying members of the Tesco Clubcard scheme. And it was the Clubcard that provided the data and the insight to identify the households where those customers lived.

It’s relevance marketing in action. Much of Tesco’s achievement has been attributed to the success of Clubcard and Tesco’s ability, assisted by dunnhumby, to translate the insight gleaned from analysis of shopping patterns into actionable marketing and retailing programmes.

This essential information on actual buying behaviour has guided most of the key business decisions the Tesco management team has made in recent times, reducing the risk associated with bold new initiatives.

Customer loyalty schemes are not a new idea, they have been around for more than 100 years, but what Tesco has done is to develop a contemporary version of the original concept which goes much further in developing an active relationship with its customers. Tesco’s marketing works because they combine insight with creativity, value and scale.

Martin Glen
President PepsiCo