Asda admits Powys store's loyalty card scheme not working

Asda Express opened on Station Road, in Llanelwedd, just outside Builth Wells, on Wednesday, October 18, taking over the petrol station and shop which had previously been operated by Co-op.

The store is the first Asda outlet in Powys, and is one of 116 convenience stores and attached forecourts acquired from the Co-op Group and currently transfering to its Asda Express convenience brand.

But customers who downloaded the Asda Rewards loyalty card scheme and who had been using the app on their phones in-store have now been told that their purchases don't necessarily mean points.

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“These stores operate on a different tech platform which means that Asda Rewards will be unavailable when the stores are initially converted to Asda Express,” said an Asda spokesperson.

“This is something that we are looking to address as we integrate and develop these stores into our estate.”

Some customers said that in the opening few weeks at the Station Road store they’d had the barcode on their Asda Rewards mobile phone app scanned at the till, but were not aware that doing so has not meant they have accumulated loyalty points.

The store closed its doors as a Co-op on October 16 and reopened as Asda two days later. Asda had confirmed the switch but remained tight-lipped on when it was taking over.

Andy Perry, managing director of convenience at Asda, said “This conversion programme is an incredibly exciting moment for our business and accelerates our presence in the fast-growing convenience market.

“We look forward to bringing Asda’s great value in fuel and groceries to many more communities across the UK and to welcoming over 2,000 former Co-op colleagues to the Asda family in the coming months.”

The converted Asda Express sites will stock up to 3,000 branded and own-label products to suit a broad range of customer needs including ‘top up’ shops for essential items such as milk and bread, grabbing lunch on the go or cooking dinner from scratch.

Asda said customers can also be reassured that they’ll be making a saving as the base prices in Asda’s current Express stores are on average 8.9 per cent cheaper than the Co-op.

It was announced last August that the Station Road site would be acquired by Asda – in a £438 million UK-wide deal as part of its long-term strategy to become the UK’s second largest supermarket. 

The Builth store’s opening was one of 14 in the same week across the UK, bringing the total number of converted stores so far to 25. The remaining stores are due to open by the end of March 2024.