Sainsbury’s Nectar Nonsense

I’ve just received this email from “Sainsbury’s at Nectar”:

Hey Kevin,

As you’re an active Nectar Sainsbury’s shopper we’re informing you of changes to the way you access Your Nectar Prices. For your personalised discounts, which will be valid from 25th July 2025, this means:

• You’ll need to ensure you’re using version 11.8 of the Nectar app or later.

• You’ll need to view and unlock Your Nectar Prices in the Nectar app each week before you shop. Your Nectar Prices will refresh every Friday, and you’ll need to unlock them each week.

• If you’d like a regular reminder to unlock Your Nectar Prices when they refresh each week, please enable in-app push notifications in your Nectar app.

• From 25th July, you’ll be able to use Your Nectar Prices at supermarket checkouts in any store. This is in addition to Smartshop and Sainsburys.co.uk.

Thanks,
From the Nectar Team

Really?

I tried to send this short suggestion through the feedback page on the Nectar app:

Your idea that customers have to unlock the Nectar offers every week is pants. We make the commitment to come to you and enter your store, you use the data of Nectar for marketing and business management. Now you want to make it more difficult. Luckily for me l have an equidistant Tesco.

Oddly, the message would not send.

Seriously, how do Sainsbury’s think this peculiar idea will work for them? It certainly doesn’t benefit their customers (in fairness, they don’t pretend it will).

My guess is they will back down on this after they lose customer loyalty, and probably market share, from this peculiar change.

What Do Other People Think

I thought I would check what others think on the subject. Here’s what I found after a quick search.

This is a snapshot of current online sentiment and representative comments about the Nectar/Sainsbury’s changes effective 25th July 2025, based on conversations from Reddit, Twitter, and consumer forums like MoneySavingExpert:

Overall Online Sentiment

Representative User Comments (July 2025)

Reddit (r/AskUK / r/CasualUK)

“So now I have to remember to ‘unlock’ my Nectar prices before I shop? This is just gamification nonsense.” – u/the_real_kent

“Why can’t this just be automatic? I feel like they want you to forget so you miss the savings.” – u/LoveMyYoghurt

“It’s good they’re letting you use it at regular checkouts now – SmartShop trolleys never worked for me anyway.” – u/Damson_Jam_

Twitter

“Sainsbury’s now making you unlock your Nectar deals every week in the app. Because nothing says happy shopping like an extra chore #Nectar #Sainsburys” – @ShopperGrrrl

“Anybody else get this Nectar email? Tbh I appreciate them finally making Your Nectar Prices usable at tills. It was annoying having to use SmartShop for it.” – @FrugalInFinsbury

“They say it’s a customer upgrade, but this feels like a quiet downgrade to me.” – @OldSchoolSaver

MoneySavingExpert Forum

“I can see this making people forget and missing out – same tactics loyalty schemes are always quietly pulling.”

“My mum doesn’t use apps and relies on her Nectar card. She’ll lose out if I don’t remind her.”

“It seems obvious they want app engagement data. I’m not going to jump through hoops just to get 10p off milk.”

Key Themes:

• Frustration over app involvement and unlocking mechanics.
• Applause for flexibility at all tills.
• Concerns for less tech-savvy users or people who forget weekly tasks.
• Speculation that it’s strategy to reduce overall redemption rates.

Here is the email I originally received

And my attempted reply…

Yes, something failed.

Kevin Harrington

I’m a UK-based B2B marketing consultant, specialising in strategic advice for SME business owners. I bring extensive hands-on expertise to every client engagement. Senior leadership roles across technology, media, payments, and publishing have shaped my practical approach. Highlights include serving as Chief Marketing Officer at The Panoply plc (now TPXimpact), Chief Commercial Officer at Tungsten Network, and Global Marketing Director at BBC Worldwide. Over the years, I’ve guided numerous SMEs through transformation and value creation. Helping businesses evolve and thrive is a genuine passion. Practical marketing insights and succession planning strategies are at the heart of what I do, as I believe growing a business’s asset value should be a rewarding and positive journey for every entrepreneur.

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