Lidl launches loyalty prices – are they any good?

Lidl has become the latest in a string of supermarkets to offer loyalty pricing to members.

The discounter has launched a range of Lidl Plus Offers, meaning members pay one price and everyone else pays more.

It follows in the footsteps of other more established schemes such as Morrisons More, Tesco Clubcard and Sainsbury's Nectar, which already offer two-tier loyalty prices. The Co-op and Waitrose also have member-only pricing. 

Read on to find out what type of offers you can expect and how they compare. 

Are Lidl Plus prices any good?

Lidl now offers loyalty prices, known as Lidl Plus Offers, on a different selection of products every week. These are the same for all Lidl Plus members and are applied automatically if members scan their app at the checkout.

When we checked last week, there were 23 offers.

These included 95p tins of Freshona peach slices on a member-only, buy-one-get-one-free deal, Formil Laundry Gel for £1.99 (non-members: £2.39) and Oaklands funsize koala pears at 99p (non-members: £1.29). 

There were also discounts on middle-aisle items such as a garden sprinkler for £5.99 (non-members: £7.99) and a children's scooter with LED wheels at £19.99 (non-members: £24.99).

We checked the pricing history of seven of the Lidl Plus Offers advertised last week. Most had been at the non-member price or more for the past six months, so looked like decent deals. 

But the Oaklands funsize koala pears (550g) had been cheaper for all customers (not just loyalty members) on several occasions – 59p at the end of November, 69p at the end of January, 70p in mid-April and 89p in late April. 

So the 99p member-only offer may not have been as good as it looked.

• Find out more: how do loyalty schemes compare?

What else does Lidl Plus offer?

Lidl Plus marks a key point of difference between Lidl and closest rival Aldi, which doesn't have a loyalty scheme.

You have to download the Lidl Plus app to use the scheme – physical cards aren't available – but it does offer other benefits in addition to the member-only discounts.

You get weekly coupons for different products based on your shopping habits, and you're also awarded for spending certain amounts. For instance, spending £250 a month will generate a 10% off coupon. Members get a free in-store bakery item in their next shop when they spend £50 in a month.

This comes alongside exclusive discounts for Lidl Plus members, such as a free two-month digital magazine subscription or 20% off Tough Mudder tickets.

You can find out more on the Lidl website and sign up via Google Play or the Apple app store.

Is Lidl the cheapest supermarket?

We check thousands of prices at eight of the UK's major supermarkets – Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose – every month to reveal the cheapest supermarket for buying your food, drink and household essentials from.

Lidl has come in close second place after Aldi every month so far this year. 

Our analysis takes into account regular discounts but not multibuys or loyalty promotions, because the latter are not always available to all. 

Indeed, we've found that for many schemes you must be aged at least 16 (and sometimes 18) and also be a resident of the UK – which can result in some people, including vulnerable groups, being unable to access the lower prices.

To join Lidl Plus, for example, you must be aged 18 or over and download an app on a mobile device.

• Find out more: which is the cheapest supermarket?

What data do loyalty schemes collect? 

You can only get the Lidl Plus Offers by downloading the Lidl Plus app and registering your details. 

You have to give Lidl your first name, surname, date of birth, email address, mobile phone number and preferred Lidl store. It also requests your gender and home address, but you don't have to give these. 

As with many other schemes, to get the discounts at Lidl you must scan the app at the checkout. 

This records the store you visited, what you bought, which coupons you used, the receipt total, your average spending over a period of time, how often you buy things as well as the times and methods of the payment. 

Lidl can also see what you look at in the app, if you take part in any prize draws, which coupons you look at, how many times you click and scroll, as well as which operating system and type of device you're using. 

• Find out more: how to save at the supermarket

What happens to my data?

All this data is valuable to supermarkets and they use it to help them make money. 

In the case of Lidl, it says it uses the data to send you personalised offers or adverts. It also uses 'mathematical-statistical methods' to work out what you might be interested in and compares your data to that of other customers, to work out what they might also like.

Lidl then provides its advertising partners with 'statistically processed anonymous data' to show how successful their advertising campaigns are. 

This type of approach isn't unique to Lidl. All loyalty schemes work in a similar way.

Sainsbury’s data arm, Nectar360, is forecast to make £90m profit by early 2026. It boasts of offering ‘billions of rows of transactional data’ to more than 700 brands to ‘help them understand and engage with their customers’.

And Tesco Clubcard claims to be the UK’s largest source of first-party behavioural data. The Tesco Media and Insight Platform launched last year and helps 450 brands ‘increase the effectiveness of their campaigns’. 

Some people will see this as a fair exchange – when we surveyed 2,000 people in July 2023, 69% said they were comfortable with stores using their data in this way – but 26% were uncomfortable knowing supermarkets collect detailed data via their loyalty schemes.

• Find out more:what counts as personal data?

Supermarket loyalty prices under the spotlight

Some loyalty prices can look impressive compared to the non-member prices. 

But Which? research looking at Clubcard and Nectar prices last summer unearthed some dodgy-looking pricing tactics. 

We looked at 141 Clubcard and Nectar Price offers in June 2023 and tracked their pricing history back six months. Some 29% of the member-only promotions were at their so-called ‘regular’ price less than half the time, which could have given shoppers the impression that savings were more substantial than they really were.

Which? is calling on supermarkets to make every non-member price genuine, so that savings are meaningful.

When we put our findings to the supermarkets, Sainsbury’s said that due to inflation, many products had increased in price over the past six months and its own inflation rate had been behind many of its competitors. 

It added: ‘We make every effort to be transparent about how customer data is used at Nectar. Customers can find more information on this in the privacy policy on our website.’

Tesco said all its Clubcard Price promotions followed strict rules, including looking at how they compared against prices at other supermarkets, to ensure they represented genuine value and savings. It said these rules had been endorsed by Tesco’s Trading Standards Primary Authority.

The Competition and Markets has now launched its own investigation into supermarket loyalty prices and it is due to publish an update in July.

• Find out more: Which? campaign ensures clearer pricing and more budget groceries for consumers