Woolworths backflips - QF points are coming back

[nlagalle]

The bigger picture also is that probably the majority of WW shoppers got very little value out of QFF points.This program for them will be no worse.AFFers are a very small minority of the general population.

well seems they did if you head over to the Woolworth rewards social media pages. probably 1 compliment to every 100 complaints. Heck people I know who aren't FF'ers are dumping the new scheme for Coles or Aldi. WW is still in damage control over this. poorly thought out scheme that was woefully implemented too.

On the other hand I got very few WW offers under the old scheme and personally I would shop at Coles.
Since the change I have had an offer most weeks-and no they don't tell me what to buy.The offers have been to spend $30 and get $5 as well as spend $40 and get $10.I decide what to spend my dollars on.Along the way I have picked up about $10 from orange label products but I in fact didn't know they were-items I was going to buy and usually definitely on special.

again relying solely on special offers. under the old scheme you would still earn points for a regular shop. whereas no you can do a regular shop and not earn a thing.

 

[nlagalle]

There is very clearly another way to describe it, as others have already pointed out. It's just that you've chosen not to see or accept it. If you're happy at Aldi there's no need to continue to criticise other people's views.

you are in the minority that like it.. I wonder how much you will like it after the bonus offers stop? I've asked you a couple of comparison questions which you have failed to answer so it leads me to believe you don't really understand the new scheme but are caught up in the wow i'm getting all these bonus offers.. wait til they drop off.

The people that like the new scheme are in the minority. show me one analysis that shows the new scheme is better than the old. i can't find one.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

So have you priced whether said item is actually cheaper at say Coles? We know it will be cheaper at Aldi, so taking into account at Coles you'll always earn flybuys, and it's cheaper (plenty of cases where this is fact).



... but what happens when those offers dries up?

I cannot see any benefits with the new scheme. You earn piddly pesos on some items that WW wants you to buy, if you are lucky you might get a bonus offer. Compare it to Coles where you earn flybuys on all your shopping plus bonus offers, who's in front? surely you cannot say this scheme is better than Flybuys???

We have a Coles and Woollies next to each other, and an Aldi a few metres away from them, so yes, I will only buy an orange ticket item if it is the same price or cheaper than I could buy it at Coles. As for Aldi... the quality is as good as Coles/Woollies on some items, but on others it can't compete. And sometimes there are Aussie made products I want to support at Coles/Wollies that I can't do at Aldi.

Once the offers dry up I guess people will do just as I do. Shop for regular orange ticket items. I have not taken advantage of one bonus offer, but have received ~$9 from less than $100 shop.

I am not experienced enough with flybuys to compare the two programs. But as our Coles is consistently more expensive on a broad range of items than Woollies, Coles is always limited to one or two items which are heavily discounted that week.

 

[rainbowgirl]

Somewhere in the last page or two of posts there was a question along the lines of "What do you do if the offers dry up?"

If the offers dry up I only spend a small amount per week at Woolworths, usually under $30.

I've got a fairly good stockpile of food and drink at home, so I can usually go for one or two weeks spending around $50 per week(fresh food only) spread out between retailers.

If you play your cards right the offers will never dry up.

We have a card for each member of the family and usually get an offer once a week. We didn't have anything for the week after Christmas but my prediction is that the targeted offers will start again early in the new year.

 

[nlagalle]

We have a Coles and Woollies next to each other, and an Aldi a few metres away from them, so yes, I will only buy an orange ticket item if it is the same price or cheaper than I could buy it at Coles. As for Aldi... the quality is as good as Coles/Woollies on some items, but on others it can't compete. And sometimes there are Aussie made products I want to support at Coles/Wollies that I can't do at Aldi.

If you want $$ off your shop as WW promotes then simply go to Aldi, it's cheaper and like you said as good or better quality. no it doesn't stock everything but if you do the bulk there WW miss out on the "bread and butter" of your shop.

Once the offers dry up I guess people will do just as I do. Shop for regular orange ticket items.

And this is where the scheme fails. it'll be hit and miss on when and what you earn on.

I am not experienced enough with flybuys to compare the two programs. But as our Coles is consistently more expensive on a broad range of items than Woollies, Coles is always limited to one or two items which are heavily discounted that week.

I think the Coles/WW cost comparison varies on area. Where i am Coles is usually cheaper these days than WW. There are plenty of stories of WW not stocking many items too in some areas so it'll be on what sells and doesn't. however given that Coles is smashing WW in the shopping market now, they are obviously doing it better than WW.

Fly buys offers now more than what WW Peso's do. you can earn fly buys on numerous things outside of coles too. you can't earn WW Pesos anywhere else. yet another flaw.

Go to the facebook page and have a read of all the complaints. By far the biggest one is the fact you earn bugger all generally. whereas Coles you'll earn plenty on your shop.

 

[nlagalle]

Somewhere in the last page or two of posts there was a question along the lines of "What do you do if the offers dry up?"

If the offers dry up I only spend a small amount per week at Woolworths, usually under $30.

I've got a fairly good stockpile of food and drink at home, so I can usually go for one or two weeks spending around $50 per week(fresh food only) spread out between retailers.

If you play your cards right the offers will never dry up.

We have a card for each member of the family and usually get an offer once a week. We didn't have anything for the week after Christmas but my prediction is that the targeted offers will start again early in the new year.

but again you are waiting for offers that may or may not come up.. I have 3 cards myself and only 1 was offered some bonus peso's for spending $100. Zilch for the others. and meanwhile without bonus offers how much will you earn in the meantime?

 

[rainbowgirl]

but again you are waiting for offers that may or may not come up.. I have 3 cards myself and only 1 was offered some bonus peso's for spending $100. Zilch for the others. and meanwhile without bonus offers how much will you earn in the meantime?

By earn I guess you are talking about Woolworths dollars or whatever we want to call them here.

On the rare occasions I shop without a targeted offer at Woolworths, I'm not looking to earn anything. There are very rarely offers on fresh food categories. I've never seen orange tickets in the deli and only a few in the fruit, vegetable and meat sections. I've seen an orange ticket on one milk item only.

The only benefit for me at Woolworths without a targeted offer is the money I'll always save by using discounted gift cards and buying half price specials.

 

[nlagalle]

By earn I guess you are talking about Woolworths dollars or whatever we want to call them here.

On the rare occasions I shop without a targeted offer at Woolworths, I'm not looking to earn anything. There are very rarely offers on fresh food categories. I've never seen orange tickets in the deli and only a few in the fruit, vegetable and meat sections. I've seen an orange ticket on one milk item only.

The only benefit for me at Woolworths without a targeted offer is the money I'll always save by using discounted gift cards and buying half price specials.

And there you have it.. bugger all items have an orange sticker on them.. which was the main focus of the new scheme.. the fact they have to keep offering $$ bonuses to get your $10 shows the scheme was flawed. you've also highlighted that none are on fresh fruit veg or meat etc. mostly sugary foods. so for you to get any benefit as you've said is get gift cards at the 5% off and "half price" specials (which i've seen cheaper at other stores for their normal price)..

but until you get/if you get any bonus emails you won't be earning much now....

 

[drron]

well seems they did if you head over to the Woolworth rewards social media pages. probably 1 compliment to every 100 complaints. Heck people I know who aren't FF'ers are dumping the new scheme for Coles or Aldi. WW is still in damage control over this. poorly thought out scheme that was woefully implemented too.



again relying solely on special offers. under the old scheme you would still earn points for a regular shop. whereas no you can do a regular shop and not earn a thing.[/COLOR]

With all due respect ordinary Australians really aren't major users of social media.I talk to lots of ordinary people and they really cant give a damn as to whether Coles or Woolies have a better loyalty scheme or whether they prefer Aldi or even IGA because it is just up the corner.
As always people with negative opinions are always more likely to voice them as compared to those with good or neutral opinions.
If I am doing a regular shop and their are no offers I will shop Coles or sometimes IGA unless Woollies has specials on items we would usually buy.
I dislike Aldi.Very few of the items we normally purchase.Fruit and veggies are cheaper but not impressed with quality and besides we prefer our local farmer's market so the money stays locally and the quality is much better.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Haven't been into a WW store in a few months, of late though they did say they are increasing the amount of products with the orange stickers.
So, the number of products with orange sticker still few and far between?

 

[rainbowgirl]

Haven't been into a WW store in a few months, of late though they did say they are increasing the amount of products with the orange stickers.
So, the number of products with orange sticker still few and far between?

I think they have increased slightly but they still don't cover enough product groups.

 

[rainbowgirl]

Haven't been into a WW store in a few months, of late though they did say they are increasing the amount of products with the orange stickers.
So, the number of products with orange sticker still few and far between?

The impression I get is that they have increased slightly but not to the extent that it is easy to get them in your normal shopping routine. There are some in fresh fruit,veg and meat but not enough to make the scheme worthwhile for orange ticket items only.

 

[moa999]

30pg brochure at present and only one stickered product.

Have they stopped bothering with this, or saving up for a big relaunch now the QFF points are finished on $30+

 

[Aussie_flyer]

With all due respect ordinary Australians really aren't major users of social media.

which Australia do you live in? it must be different to the one I'm in.

 

[exceladdict]

If you play your cards right the offers will never dry up.

This, with an extra +1 for the pun on 'cards'.


It's important to compare apples with apples. First, with targeted offers. Over the year or so before this enhancement, Mrs Excel and I would get alternating "spend x get y points" or "spend x get double / triple points". Now with WW pesos, it's "spend x get y pesos".
The objectives of this type of marketing are multiple: to increase your total spend, to change your spend pattern to one big rather than multiple small shops (which may change the profit composition of what you buy), to increase your likelihood to add a luxury item or bump up a spend category to hit your target spend (which generally means to go to a more profitable item, or add on unnecessary items at the checkout), and so on.


These we can compare like for like. My offers under the new scheme have generally been 5 pesos for $30 or 10 pesos for $60 (16%), after initial 10 pesos for $100 which I refused. My offers under the old system were generally 250 points for $30 or 500 for $75 right up to the occasional 1000 points for $250. On this basis it's up to me how I value qantas points but when the new system allows me to cash out for qantas points it will be easier to evaluate it for me personally. The two difficult things for me now are the prediction of whether targeted offers will continue (history says they will) and when cashing out starts.


The second point of comparison is on everyday purchases. I personally have had a grand total of zero pesos from Orange tickets. This type of promotion is specifically designed to change your spend within item categories or to encourage impulse buying "because it's a good deal". From a business perspective, this is a good idea. You want to have the ability to encourage people to buy products that suit your business objectives (higher profit, need to turn over stock, whatever it might be). However, these effectively become trade promotions, the same as regular specials, and so unless the special is good, people simply won't buy it. Ignoring the poor execution of this to date (botched pricing, lack of deals, etc), I think these ideas are good in theory. They encourage more people to be members of WOW Rewards, to be eligible for promotions (similar to in the US, where almost all specials are for members only, allowing them to build data profiles, etc). However the thing that I dislike about this is the tendency of retailers to then force the cost of discounting on to their suppliers. WOW have stated that they have footed the entire cost of it so far, but we would be naive to think they don't have a long term objective of shifting this cost on to manufacturers, farmers etc.

Compared to the old system - 1 point per $ over $30 - it hasn't worked for me so far, having earned 0 pesos on everyday spend. In the july-aug-sept quarter, I spent just under $1500 at supermarkets in 74 transactions. 31 of those were at WOW, 13 of which were over $30, earning a total of 447 points. Obviously, because I've earned no pesos, this is better than the new system; however, if I did earn 5 pesos from everyday spend in a quarter - which could be acheivable, if woolies increase the availability of items in categories I spend in - then it could theoretically balance out for Mrs Excel and I. On this point, we'll have to wait and see, but I'm not going to fret over an average of 150 qantas points per month. I always believed it wasn't worth inconveniencing myself for the point of 1pp$ over $30 - it's just too low an earn rate to be worthwhile.

The last thing I want to do is compare this to coles. They also use both of the above systems (surprise surprise) - targeted rewards to a particular "total shop" value, base points on every dollar spent, and the occasional points on particular items. Since the woolworthless dollars debacle, I've paid more attention to coles targeted offers and earned 17,450 FB points, worth $87.25 FB dollars (or 4,362 etihad points). This cost $1,420 of spend (of which a few hundred dollars was at kmart/target - so let's say it was $1100 for 17,000 points for $85 reward). That's about 7.7%. Interestingly, until I ran these numbers, I thought I was doing far better having swapped my spend to coles (ignoring differences in price of items, etc). The ability to stack multiple coupons - for a few thousand points per shop, in some instances - made me feel like I was winning. But comparing those numbers to the above was quite a surprise for me.

And it's hard to forget the 5% off via wish cards that we still get at WOW - hard to ignore.

All that seems certain is that it's important to do the due diligence for yourself and check it's working. My earlier post commenting that only two people seemed to benefit from the new system was because in reading this thread, I only remembered two people commenting that they had - and if it is, well done - but I'm yet to see really which way will be better for me in the long run.

In the meantime, I'll be hitting up Spud Shed more and more.

 

[BettyB]

It is working for many people. But some dinosaurs just don't like change - even when its good for them.

Completely agree. The new scheme has been very generous for me.

 

[BettyB]

you are in the minority that like it.. I wonder how much you will like it after the bonus offers stop? I've asked you a couple of comparison questions which you have failed to answer so it leads me to believe you don't really understand the new scheme but are caught up in the wow i'm getting all these bonus offers.. wait til they drop off.

Why would they drop off? QFF bonus offerings never stopped.

The people that like the new scheme are in the minority. show me one analysis that shows the new scheme is better than the old. i can't find one.

Wow, clearly you are angry about missing out on the new scheme. I'm obviously in the minority as well. Very happy with the new scheme.

 

[ellen10]

I have had only one $10 off for $100 shop.
The only other offer I got was $10 off a $100 online shop. I have tried the online shop a while ago but I do not like it.
I have earned $3.08 WW dollars.
So it seems that some have had better bonus offers than others.

 

[nlagalle]

Why would they drop off? QFF bonus offerings never stopped.

They became far less generous then when the program first started, many people reported that bonus offers dried up..

Wow, clearly you are angry about missing out on the new scheme. I'm obviously in the minority as well. Very happy with the new scheme.

yes you must be in the minority.. I'd be angry if I was a shareholder sitting there watch them further destroy their business. If I was a shareholder in Westfarmers I'd be laughing like no tomorrow.

You only think its good as you have had a number of targeted offers. Once they stop, tell me which scheme will be better? WW or Flybuys? I know which one I'd be banking on.. and it ain't WW..

 

[drron]

which Australia do you live in? it must be different to the one I'm in.

Of course I do.I live and work in regional Australia or outer suburbs.
If you are young,live in the Capitals I wouldn't be surprised if you felt most people use social media.But then just how wide is your circle of acquaintances?
Even those who have used social media-how many are regulars and then how many of those could be bothered using WW or Coles social media?
I would be surprised if the majority of Australians gave a fig for the difference in supermarket loyalty schemes.

But disaster at WW today in Armidale.We needed a few things.Had our list.Knew a couple were on special at WW so went there.In the Armidale store there did appear to be a lot more orange stickers than I have noticed before.And one was on one of the items on our list.Another on something we normally buy.It also has a long shelf life and was on special.
So there we are nearly finished with $2.40 in pesos with an approx. $40 spend.That is to me equal to 120 QFF points at the upper end of my valuation.The fire alarm starts.We merrily continue on but notice there is now no one else shopping.The manager turns the corner and says you must evacuate the store.In fact the whole centre was evacuated.So off to Coles earning just 45 FB points-well short of the WW haul.
So sitting in the Armidale WW is a trolley with $2.40 pesos that we will never see.