There is a Save Ons Foods grocery store a few blocks away from my condo where I always do my grocery shopping at. Downtown dwellers refer to this store as the "Singles" Save Ons since all the single young downtown professionals go here to do their grocery shopping.
While this lesson isn't about tips on how to pick up single people in a downtown Save Ons, it is about taking advantage of loyalty programs. Save Ons offers a Save on More card where you can get anywhere between 5-10% off your grocery purchase. Many people (including myself) usually shy away from "signing up" for these loyalty programs when offered them at the checkout counter. Many times, people don't even realize that a lot of these loyalty programs offered by stores are FREE. The idea is that you as a customer will want to frequently visit a store to get discounts at, which inherently draws in more business for that particular store.
Here's my logic...the thing with grocery stores is that they all essentially sell the same product for the same prices... there's not much variation when it comes to staples like food (as opposed to say vehicles or furniture). Living downtown, many people most likely choose their choice grocery store based on distance from their home (this is how I choose anyway).
Based on this way of thinking, if convenience is the only metric that differentiates one grocery store from another, then why not take advantage of a loyalty program offered at the grocery store you already go to? Assuming the average single person spends $70 a week on groceries, using the Save on More card as an example, in one year one person can save anywhere between $182 to $364. Assuming you shop at this same location for 5 years, that's almost $1000 to $2000 in grocery savings from a loyalty card that didn't persuade you in the first place to the store because it was already convenient for you to go there anyway. Not bad right?
There are other free loyalty programs that are offered by other grocery stores, such as points cards that can be used to redeem certain "prizes" or items. Gas stations are another good example where loyalty cards or programs are offered that can save 1-2% on every gas purchase, which can quickly add up over the year. For example, filling up 50 liters every week with premium gas at $1.15/L for an entire year would cost $3,000. 2% cash back would give you $60, or in other words, a free tank of gas. This might not seem like much over the short term, but over the long term, these loyalty program benefits can add up quickly.
So the next time you find yourself at your regular gas station or grocery store, inquire about an offered free loyalty program, and consider enrolling in it to experience the added savings over time. Because at the end of the day, what the single people at Save Ons are really enjoying is the extra cash in their wallet.