A scheme is being launched to encourage people to shop more in Ilkeston and Long Eaton.

The Shop Nearbuy loyalty card is being launched this weekend to counter out-of-town shopping centres.

Shoppers will be able to get loyalty card passports stamped when they buy goods worth more than £2.50.

Once 15 stamps have been collected, the shopper can enter a monthly competition for prizes worth up to £60.

The passports are available at 130 outlets.

The scheme, supported by Derbyshire County Council and Erewash Borough Council, starts in Ilkeston on Saturday and Long Eaton a week later.

Coun Geoff Smith, Erewash’s lead member for planning and regeneration, said: “This scheme will bring benefits to shopkeepers and market stall holders and shoppers alike by encouraging a strong customer base.”

For more information and advice on Loyalty Cards contact the UK’s Loyalty Card specialists                              Modulus Card Solutions Ltd on 01298 83131

Well, essentially it’s a free plastic card that you can collect from a retailer. Hand it over every time you make a purchase and points will be added to your account. Collect enough points, and you can use them as money off your shopping.

However, a more lucrative method is to use them to take advantage of one of the many offers available to loyaltycard holders.

For example, points can be used to pay for tickets to theme parks, DVD rental, dry cleaning, furniture, jewellery or meals out, to name but a few. A large number of retailers now offer loyalty schemes, which can differ greatly in their usefulness.

Of course, we all know these schemes aren’t really free - we pay for them through increased prices in store.

For this reason, you may prefer to use shops which can keep their prices low by not offering a loyalty card.

Loyalty cardholders are also subject to having their shopping choices analysed by the supermarkets/retailers, which can be quite annoying.

However, if you can put up with this and regularly use a shop offering a loyalty card anyway, you might as well take advantage of it after all, you’re paying for it anyway! Clever use of the money off shopping vouchers regularly sent out can boost your point totals and reduce the cost of your shopping, too.

UK retailer Coffee Republic is to launch a contactless loyalty card.

The Coffee Republic branded pre-paid ‘Payment and Loyalty’ smartcard offers contactless payments and the promise of promotional top-ups which are redeemable in-store.

Users can register the card and view transactions and loyalty funds online. The card can also be topped up on the Internet as well as in-store.

The loyalty card is being offered to customers in three London stores before a nationwide roll out early next year.

Coffee Republic already accepts contactless payments having signed up for Barclaycard’s OnePulse last year.

Customer loyalty schemes are a great way to connect people and business and keep your customers coming back for more.

To set up your scheme effectively you’ll need to get a plastic card produced for members. Ideally this should be printed or laminated to discourage forgery, but you shouldn’t worry if more than one member of a household uses it - after all, if it means extra customers in any case, you’re not losing out.

Getting customers to register for the card is an opportunity to collect information on them which may help you to understand them better and target your advertising more effectively. Just be careful that you handle this data responsibly in accordance with the Data Protection Act

Don’t ask customers to do anything more complicated than showing their cards to claim their points- make the whole process as easy as possible for them.

Periodically you may wish to include extra promotions where you could offer extra points against certain products or a specific spend threshold.

 Overall keep it simple and easy to understand.

LOYALTY cards for individual stores have been around for years - but it has now emerged an entire Suffolk town could soon boast its very own reward system for those who shop local.

The idea of a town-wide loyalty card for Bury St Edmunds is the brainchild of the Bury Town Centre Management Group.

Last night it said a number of options were being looked at - which includes a simple discount card in which shoppers get slashed-price items by waving their plastic loyalty cards. 

A second option involves card-holders amassing points each time they spend in the town which can be stored up and redeemed at any shop in Bury.

Studies show that loyalty cards are one of the most cost effective ways to build brand loyalty and improve customer retention, and with Modulus Card Solutions loyalty card scheme experience, it is now easier than ever to achieve.

Loyalty cards are used by all the major retail and supermarket chains as a vital tool to improve profitability, but you don’t need to be a national high street store in order to run a profitable reward card scheme.

Loyalty card schemes can put independent retailers on an equal footing with the big chain retailers and major UK rewards programmes, helping them compete for and retaining customer loyalty, while providing an advantage over their direct competitors.

Most loyalty cards solutions can be tailored to suit individual needs and are combined with professional presentation to attract new business and increase consumer loyalty in your own retail environment.

One of the reasons the supermarkets and big pharmaceutical chains are taking business away from independent retailers are the incentives offered in their loyalty card schemes. Our loyalty solutions and the advantages and rewards that they offer helps the independents increase frequency of store visits and increase spending while also retaining and encouraging loyalty from existing customers.

Surveys show that it costs far less to increase business by improving client loyalty than to attract new customers, and our attractive plastic reward cards not only improve customer brand awareness, but help establish a valuable relationship with your customers. Tracking and measuring spending patterns and preferences allows you to make the most of special offers and customer incentives by targeting them where they will work most effectively.

The loyalty cards market in the UK is one of the most significant in the world and forms the backbone of marketing and customer retention planning. Our packages will allow you to build customer loyalty by providing you with the solutions to enable your customers to have a complete shopping experience. Rewards are maintained by reward points acquired in incremental sales of your products not third party obscure or irrelevant offers. By combining this with instant issue of the reward at the point of sale (POS) the customer and staff experience is simple and fun.

With over 85% of UK Households possessing loyalty cards it is really a case of can you afford not to offer a loyalty card service to your customers.