Supermarket Wars Intensify

The supermarket war is on. Coles has relaunched its Flybuys card to provide more rewards to its loyal customers. The loyalty card allows customers to cash in their points, which can essentially save them hundreds of dollars of grocery bills annually.

The supermarket chain, owned by Wesfarmers, will give a flybuy card to almost all households in the country. The campaign will start next Monday and will include radio ads announcing the scheme.

The mailout is considered one of the largest in Australian history as Coles is expected to send more tha eight million cards.

Coles Managing Director Ian McLeod said the flybuy card is a marketing strategy to increase its market share and win new customers. Despite costing Coles millions of dollars, McCleod believes this is worth it.

The move is also to challenge Woolworths, the largest grocery chain in the country.

The new flybuy card is an upgraded version of the Coles flybuy card. Cardholders will earn a point for every dollar they spend in Coles supermarkets. When a customer reaches a certain level, the customer can cash in the points and pay for purchases.

Existing cardholders are also included in the new scheme. Their existing points will be carried over to the new card.

Aside from the loyalty card, the company has also launched My5. The project gives 10 percent off to Flybuys customers. The discount is applied to five products of the customer’s choice.

A website has been launched, featuring close to 5,000 products. Customers can browse the site and pick five products to get the 10 percent discount.

Tagged Coles, Flybuys, Ian McLeod, Woolworths