New World Clubcard Going, Club+ Takes Over Monday
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Clubcard is done. After more than a decade at the checkout, the loyalty programme shuts down at 11.59pm this Sunday.
New World, PAK'nSAVE and Four Square's replacement — Club+ — takes over from Monday. If you haven't made the switch yet, you've got until Sunday night to do it without losing your member discounts and offers.
Clubcard launched in the South Island in 2014, back when smartphones were still a novelty and paper supermarket coupons weren't entirely ancient history. It outlasted both. But Foodstuffs has decided a decade is long enough, and the new programme is the result.
Chief Customer Officer Deirdre Boyle said the world has moved on since Clubcard first appeared on keyrings across the country.
"When Clubcard was introduced, smartphones were still becoming part of everyday life. Technology has changed enormously since then and so have shoppers' expectations."
"Clubcard has served New Zealanders incredibly well, but it's important to us that the experience we provide continues to evolve. Club+ gives us the flexibility to deliver a more connected and personalised experience that rewards our customers every time they shop across our co-operative's family of brands."
Club+ lets New World and Four Square shoppers earn Club+ Dollars and fuel discounts on qualifying shops. PAK'nSAVE customers can earn fuel discounts and redeem Club+ Dollars. Members also get access to exclusive Club+ Deals at New World and special offers throughout the year. There's also a choice between earning Club+ Dollars or Airpoints — a nod, presumably, to the idea that some people still fly places.
Existing Clubcard members who join Club+ will have their New World Dollars balance automatically transferred across. Those who don't switch before Sunday can still transfer their balance later, but any remaining credit expires 24 months after their last Clubcard transaction. So not urgent, but not indefinite either.
Foodstuffs says it's also helping customers who don't have an email address or mobile phone make the transition — a quietly important detail, given loyalty programmes have a habit of quietly excluding people who aren't digitally set up.
The physical cards can be dropped into recycling bins at New World and South Island PAK'nSAVE stores. Specialist recycler saveBOARD will turn them into building materials. Your decade of grocery loyalty, immortalised in a wall cavity somewhere.
"We'd like to thank every customer who has scanned a Clubcard, collected New World Dollars and shopped with us over the years. Club+ builds on everything customers have valued about Clubcard, while giving us the flexibility to continue improving the programme in the years ahead," Boyle said.
Club+ is free to join at clubplus.co.nz.