Scrutiny of supermarket loyalty card “specials” shows many of the items advertised as discounted for members can be found at a lower price elsewhere, Consumer NZ says.

The watchdog analysed the price of 48 products which were discounted for members of Countdown’s Onecard or New World’s Clubcard scheme, and were also available at Pak’nSave and The Warehouse.

The prices were collected from supermarkets in Auckland and Wellington over a one-month period.

Consumer NZ head of research and advocacy Gemma Rasmussen said three-quarters of the products looked at were available at an equal or lower price elsewhere.

At the time of the analysis, customers who swiped a Onecard when purchasing a Moccona Classic Medium Roast Instant Freeze Dried Coffee Refill would pay $11 for the item.

Pak’nSave’s price for the same product was $8, a saving of 27 per cent on Countdown’s “special” loyalty price.

A one-litre bottle of NZ Natural Sparkling Water would cost a New World customer $1.79 if they used their Clubcard. The same product cost 46 per cent less at The Warehouse, coming in at 97 cents.

At Pak’nSave, a 765g box of Kellogg’s Nutrigrain cost $7.99, while New World Clubcard holders could spend 13 per cent more and buy the same product for the “special” price of $8.99.

“Time and time again we found The Warehouse or Pak’nSave were considerably cheaper than the so-called special pricing offered to loyal customers of New World or Countdown,” Rasmussen said.

As part of its campaign to stop “dodgy” supermarket specials, Consumer polled its supporters and found 95 per cent were tempted, to some degree, by specials, while 84 per cent had a loyalty card.

Its latest sentiment tracker survey also found 15 per cent of shoppers took loyalty programmes into account before they made a purchase.

“Supermarkets understand the persuasiveness of a ‘special’ or ‘loyalty deal’ and we are concerned shoppers are paying more than they need to because of this,” Rasmussen said.

“It is questionable whether the supermarket loyalty ‘specials’ are actually good deals when the same products can consistently be found cheaper elsewhere.”

In response to the watchdog’s findings, Foodstuffs spokesperson Emma Wooster said data showed New World's Clubcard members saved hundreds of dollars with Club Deals every year.

“By shopping the Club Deals at New World, Consumer NZ saved themselves nearly 20 per cent on their shop,” she said.

“It’s really great to see that [Foodstuffs brand] Pak’nSave with its value focused offer came in at the lowest price of all in Consumer NZ’s shop.”

A Woolworths spokesperson said information about its discounts was commercially sensitive, but the company was confident its Onecard programme offered good value.

Consumer NZ said supermarkets also benefited from the huge volume of data collected via loyalty card programmes, which could be used to serve shoppers targeted third-party advertising.

“While this practice is legal, it raises questions about how this data collection is disclosed to shoppers,” Rasmussen said.

However, both Foodstuffs and Woolworths said customers’ loyalty scheme data was not sold.

Following its market study into the grocery sector, the Commerce Commission recommended information relating to loyalty programmes’ data collection and use should be clear and transparent.

Rasmussen said promotional pricing was enticing and the number of specials on display made it hard for shoppers to know whether they were genuinely getting a good deal.

“Our analysis shows that some loyalty card discounts are not the great deals they appear to be, and it pays to be skeptical.

“We recommend shoppers use tools like [price comparison website] grocer.nz to compare prices at their local supermarkets, The Warehouse and online retailer Supie,” she said.

“We are not suggesting that people hop between stores to stock their pantry, but our analysis backs up our long-held belief that there is little, if any reward, in being loyal to one chain or store.”

- Esther Taunton/Stuff.