Why is John Lewis overhauling its loyalty card scheme?
John Lewis and Waitrose are both preparing to launch new loyalty card schemes as the partnership looks to turn around the business.
The John Lewis Partnership, which owns the department store and upmarket grocery store, has drafted in Dunnhumby, the company which helped establish Tesco’s clubcard scheme in the 1990s and, also, promotions business Eagle Eye Solutions Group.
The pair currently already have separate loyalty schemes, My Waitrose and My John Lewis.
However, the partnership that owns both brands had previously revealed plans to merge the two systems together.
As the future of the employee-owned business hangs in the balance, head of the partnership Sharon White has also drafted in Tesco’s former head of loyalty strategy Emily Wells.
Wells will join the group in June and will be responsible for developing and launching a new “pan-partnership loyalty proposition” in 2024 as well as leading the revamped John Lewis loyalty programmes and their teams.
“Today’s announcements show the ambition we have to transform how our much-loved brands can deliver a more personalised experience for customers,” Charlotte Lock, customer director at John Lewis and Pan-Partnership, said.
It comes as the business suffered a £234m loss in 2022 which was largely fuelled by what White described as the “pain of inflation”.
Moreover, rumours have also been circulating that White is looking to bring an end to its 100 per cent employee ownership business in a bid to raise funds for the retailer.