Points cards

A points card is given to customers to reward them for regular shopping at a particular shop.

Points card schemes encourage customer loyalty. Points awarded are usually worth about 1p for every pound spent. It is a way of trying to stop people going to the competition down the road. They are a way of collecting personal datapersonal data : Information about a particular person., as they are dependant on computer systems which keep a file on each customer and identify them with a card number, storing the information in a large databasedatabase: A database is a collection of information which can be accessed and ordered quickly and easily..

How do they work?

Swiping a points card is an example of data capturedata capture: The collection, formatting, and storage of information in computer memory.. With most points cards the customers have to give their personal datapersonal data : Information about a particular person. in exchange for the card which has a unique number. Every time the customer visits the shop the card is "swiped" to read the number so the customer can be identified and points added to their name. The tills, of course, use barcodesbarcodes : A group of vertical bars that can be read by a barcode scanner. to identify each item bought.

Points cards provide companies with information about spending. This allows the shops (usually supermarkets) to gather up information about the kinds of spending done by the customer.

Mailing lists are built up from points cards systems. Shops can send adverts that are aimed at particular customers. For example, someone who regularly buys garden magazines might be sent special offers on garden products. They can also use the information to see where the customers come from, and help work out if it is worth building a new store in particular places.

The Data Protection Act applies to the personal data gathered by the schemes. The mailing lists which supermarkets gather from points cards can also be sold to other advertisers as long as Data Protection law is followed. Find out more about the Data Protection Act in the Legal Framework section.