Tesco confirms major Clubcard gaffe as customers charged MORE than shelf price

A pricing error within Tesco’s Clubcard app has resulted in some shoppers being shown personalised offers that were actually more expensive than the standard shelf price. The issue came to light after a Reddit user shared a screenshot from the app’s Your Clubcard Prices section, where members receive “exclusive savings on selected products, based on their previous purchase history”. Instead of receiving a discount, the customer was offered Tesco’s own-brand one-litre bottle of sunflower oil for £1.55 – 6p higher than its normal selling price.

“Wow! My own personal offer!” they commented sarcastically. Tesco has confirmed the issue, explaining that it provides thousands of Your Clubcard Prices promotions every week and that cases like this are extremely uncommon. The supermarket said the error happened because the sunflower oil had been added to its Aldi Price Match scheme after the personalised Clubcard offer had already been generated. As a result, the standard retail price dropped below the personalised promotional price.

Tesco added that whenever this situation occurs, customers will always be charged the lowest available price.

The retailer introduced its hyper-personalised Clubcard Prices initiative in February last year, using shoppers’ previous purchasing habits to provide discounted prices on products they are most likely to buy.

New personalised offers are issued through the Tesco app every Wednesday and remain valid for seven days.

Tesco has continued to invest heavily in artificial intelligence to improve the relevance of its loyalty offers. In April, the supermarket announced a partnership with software company Adobe aimed at delivering more personalised content and promotions for Clubcard members. That followed a three-year agreement signed in December with French technology firm Mistral AI to develop AI-powered solutions and further enhance personalised Clubcard offers.

“At its simplest, loyalty is about rewarding customers for shopping with us,” Becky Brock, Tesco group customer director, told The Grocer in May. “But the real opportunity is making those rewards genuinely useful, convenient and relevant to each individual customer.”

The growing focus on personalised loyalty promotions comes as supermarkets compete to strengthen customer engagement. According to a 2024 investigation by the CMA, more than one-fifth of grocery sales at retailers offering member pricing came from products sold at loyalty discounts. The watchdog also found that the average shopper belongs to three supermarket loyalty schemes.

Retailers across the sector are increasingly turning to personalised offers to make their loyalty programmes more attractive.

After signing a five-year agreement with Microsoft in 2024, Sainsbury’s outlined plans to “become the UK’s leading AI-enabled grocer”. As part of that strategy, the retailer said it was “combining advanced technology with our colleagues’ expertise to create more personalised Your Nectar Prices”.

Morrisons also expanded its personalised promotions earlier this year. In February, it partnered with retail engagement company Ecrebo to improve its ability to generate instant coupons, offers and messages for customers both at the checkout and through its app.

Co-op followed suit in March by allowing members to redeem their weekly personalised offers when shopping online. The convenience retailer previously revealed it had increased the number of personalised member offers by 67%, taking the total to more than 700.

Meanwhile, Marks & Spencer said almost five million customers have visited its revamped Sparks hub since it launched in April. The updated loyalty programme uses a range of AI and data-driven technologies, including machine learning and advanced generative AI models “coming soon”, to create increasingly personalised rewards and offers for Sparks members.