Uber Eats has expanded its partnership with Sainsbury’s and Nectar, allowing UK customers to collect Nectar points on their rapid grocery deliveries.
Shoppers can collect one Nectar point for every £1 spent when ordering Sainsbury’s groceries via the Uber Eats app or ubereats.com, and Nectar card holders can seamlessly collect and spend Nectar points across the entire Uber ecosystem, redeeming them against Uber journeys or future Uber Eats orders, as well as at Sainsbury’s.
Katie Hunter, Uber Eats general manager for grocery & retail in the UK, described the partnership as “delivering flexibility, convenience, and value for customers right alongside their favourite groceries.”
Mark Given, Sainsbury’s chief technology, marketing and data officer, added: “It’s another way we’re helping customers get more from Nectar, whether they’re stocking up on essentials, planning dinner or making everyday life that little bit easier.”
How Nectar works
With approximately 27 million users in the UK, Sainsbury’s Nectar loyalty scheme has been highly successful, despite garnering some criticism on social media for offering lower baseline point values per pound than other rival schemes such as Tesco Clubcard – 0.5p per pound as opposed to Clubcard’s 1p per pound. But, where Tesco creates a closed ecosystem for collecting points, meaning points can only be collected from spending within its own stores, Nectar connects to almost 300 partner brands – now including Uber Eats – to collect points, meaning shoppers can collect points on non-grocery spending.
Beyond the supermarket aisle
Sainsbury’s latest move shows how the battle for customer loyalty is moving beyond the supermarket aisle. While schemes such as Nectar and Clubcard have been effective at driving repeat purchases and higher spend, supermarkets are increasingly expanding rewards to stay competitive. At the same time, quick commerce and on-demand delivery are becoming core growth channels, which Sainsbury’s is supporting through its expanded partnership with Uber Eats. By combining fast, frictionless delivery with compelling rewards, it aims to capture a larger share of the market.
As the lines between loyalty, convenience and commerce continue to blur, supermarkets are betting that the combination of rewards and rapid fulfilment will keep customers coming back.
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