What you need to know about Sainsbury's new 'Nectar Prices'

The new scheme has come into play in Sainsbury's stores. Credit: PA

In a move that rivals Tesco's Clubcard scheme, Sainsbury's has rolled out lower prices on hundreds of products for members of its loyalty card, Nectar.

Discounts come into effect from Tuesday and will apply in-store and online.

Here's how it works and how you could benefit.

What is this new Nectar scheme?

Nectar Prices, as it is called, offers Nectar members with exclusive deals when they swipe their card or app in-store, or link it to their Sainsbury’s account online.

It means shoppers can choose from lower prices on selected items, such as:

  • Nescafe Gold Blend instant coffee costing £4 rather than £8.10;

  • Heinz baked beans costing 95p instead of £1.40;

  • and Tanqueray gin costing £19 instead of £27.50.

Sainsbury's says items will be clearly marked with a Nectar Price label on the shelf edge in-store, or next to each product online.

So, what else could I save money on?

The discounts are available on 300 items initially, spanning household products, pet food and confectionary, but will expand into more categories in the future.

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Simon Roberts, chief executive of Sainsbury’s, said: “We are delighted to launch Nectar Prices, which will help millions of our customers save more on every trip to Sainsbury’s.

“There is much more to look forward to, we will keep refreshing Nectar Prices and increasing the variety of products on offer."

Can I still earn points on Nectar?

Members still earn Nectar points on products they buy – which can then be spent on other brands such as Argos, Caffe Nero or British Airways.

However, the deals will not be available in Sainsbury’s locals, concessions or petrol stations.

Nectar Prices will be labelled on products in Sainsbury’s supermarkets, although it does not include locals and concessions. Credit: PA

It is similar to the Tesco Clubcard scheme, which offers lower prices to cardholders who can also collect points to convert into vouchers or rewards.

But last month Tesco came under fire for changing the terms of its loyalty scheme.

From June 14 this year, when you exchange your Tesco Clubcard vouchers for a Tesco Clubcard Reward Partner code, they’ll be worth twice their value, instead of three times their value.

Customers will still get up to three times the value until June 13. 

The shake-up comes as new figures showed Britons cut back on groceries and eating out in March, as some nine-tenths of shoppers reported feeling concerned about rising food prices, according to Barclays.

Around 62% said they were finding ways to reduce the cost of their weekly shop, the report showed, which combines hundreds of millions of customer transactions with consumer research.

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