Colruyt starts sustainable loyalty programme

The Belgian Colruyt Group has launched its first loyalty programme in its Xtra app, which spans several of the retail group’s chains. Shoppers can support local environmental initiatives when they purchase items with Eco-Score A or B.

“You do not put the planet on hold”

The chains Colruyt Laagste Prijzen, Bio-Planet, OKay and Spar Colruyt Group, as well as the group’s e-commerce branch Collect&Go, now allow customers to earn points in their joint Xtra app. When customers buy an item with Eco-score A, they earn two points; per item with Eco-score B that is one point. For 100 points, customers can choose to have a tree, a square metre of flowers or a square metres of natural area planted. A fourth option is to join a sustainability workshop at Colruyt Group Academy.

In the first year, Colruyt hopes to be able to plant 35,000 trees, sow 50,000 sqm of flower meadows and create 25,000 sqm of natural area through this project. Answering the claim that it may be strange that a Lowest Price retailer chooses to offer sustainable projects rather than discounts, CEO Jef Colruyt is clear: “Even if there are a lot of other important issues right now, you just can not put the Planet on hold”.

New app version

Colruyt Group brought the Eco-Score to Belgium in 2021 to inform customers about the effects their choices have on the environment. Nowadays, the score is displayed on over 250 private label products, and it is available online for more than half of all the retailer’s food products (both private label and major brands). Moreover, in the sustainable chain Bio-Planet, shoppers also find the Eco-Score on electronic price tags. Later on, this will be expanded to OKay and Colruyt Laagste Prijzen.

For the Belgian retail group, it is the first time it offers a loyalty programme in its app. That Xtra app has been given a brand new version with a lot more functions and aims to become the customer’s personal assistent. All in all, 1.4 million people already use the Xtra app.