Real-life retail: Membership schemes and social media spats

Members, not just customers

Renewed shopper enthusiasm for the Co-op was evident in yesterday’s results not just in rising food sales but in membership numbers.

By the end of last year there were four million Co-op members and another 350,000 have joined since the start of 2017.

Members now account for 31% of the Co-op’s food sales versus 20% before the scheme’s relaunch.

Membership is often a misused term, like the emperor’s new clothes that showed there was nothing of substance.

But when it’s genuine it brings many welcome associations that can elevate a relationship with a retailer beyond the purely transactional.

The Co-op has done well with its scheme, which offers generous rewards on members’ spend on the grocer’s own-label and helps fund local good causes.

Membership-models are becoming increasingly common across business.

M&S has always been at pains to emphasise the personalised membership benefits of its &More scheme. You can even become a member of The Guardian if you want.

As retailers seek ways of deepening relationships with customers and retaining their loyalty, perhaps schemes that offer a real sense of membership rather than being thinly veiled data collection or sales tools will become a more prominent weapon in the retail armoury.

Chris Boardman in Twitter spat with Sainsbury’s

These days retailers are expected to engage with people on social media, and not just on the common or garden moans about bruised apples.

Conversations on services such as Twitter can imperil brand reputation, so retailers need to strike the right tone in their responses.

Sainsbury’s was on the receiving end of stinging criticism on Twitter on Thursday, and the controversy even drew in former Olympian cyclist Chris Boardman who lambasted the grocer.

It all centred around whether or not a Sainsbury’s trucker had driven responsibly while passing a cyclist.

Opinion may be divided on that, but JS’s response wasn’t the best and prompted furious tweets from Boardman such as this one.

Still not heard from @sainsburys but there again, it's not my life that was endangered...

Have a nice day! https://t.co/miZWZ3rUHj

— Chris Boardman (@Chris_Boardman) April 6, 2017

@KarlOnSea Hi Karl, the driver is in his own lane, this has already been brought to our attention. Have a good day. Faiza.

— Sainsbury's (@sainsburys) April 5, 2017

A timely reminder of the role that social media now plays in life and business and the consequent importance of a brand’s voice in the mix.

Farewell Shoreditch, hello Holborn

Retail Week is moving office over the weekend.

It sadly brings to an end a 10-year tradition of sharing office buildings with retailers.

Until today, we’ve had a floor in between others occupied by Karen Millen, Oasis, and Coast and before that we were in the same building as Asos.

Another thing I’ll miss about the Old Street area that we’re leaving is that it has become a bit of a retail testing ground.

Argos and the Co-op both unveiled new-model stores here while others, such as Decathlon and French Connection, tested pop-up formats in Old Street Tube Station.

Retailers, would you mind in future testing new store-types in Holborn? Because that’s where we’re bound.

There, although we’re not cheek by jowl with retailers any more, our new office is at least not far from Sainsbury’s HQ – handy for hearing all about developments in grocery and progress with Argos.