The ‘loyalty tax’ Australian families are paying by sticking to a single supermarket have been revealed, with new figures showing the habit costs an average of $3900 per household annually.
According to comparison tool Grocerize, its report, based on its pricing data, directly challenges the value of supermarket loyalty programs and proves that shopping strategically is vastly more profitable for consumers.
“The analysis exposes the financial fallacy of loyalty, where the minor rewards offered by points-based systems are dwarfed by the significant, immediate cash savings available by comparing prices,” says Grocerize.
“While a shopper might need to spend $2000 to earn a $10 voucher through a typical loyalty program, that’s a 0.5% saving, Grocerize data shows that the average family user saved 28% on average on their weekly shop by splitting their shop between Coles and Woolworths.”
This ‘loyalty tax’ is the calculated difference between the cost of a typical family’s weekly basket at one store versus the cost of the same basket optimised for the lowest price on every item.
“The data is clear: brand loyalty is the most expensive habit a grocery shopper can have,” says Grocerize founder Blake Bennett.
“Supermarkets have spent decades and billions of dollars cultivating loyalty, but our data shows the real loyalty should be to your own budget. We built Grocerize to show people the raw numbers, proving that the biggest savings don’t come from a points card; they come from information.”
The analysis highlights that while one store might be cheaper for some items, the other is almost always cheaper for others on the same day.
The Grocerize platform works by allowing shoppers to see these discrepancies in real-time, empowering them to:
- Identify the “true” cost of their basket at both major retailers.
- Pinpoint which specific items are driving up their bill at their preferred store.
- Make an informed choice to switch stores or split their shop for maximum savings.
