Rewe and Payback will soon go their separate ways. The supermarket giant has confirmed corresponding media reports. Point collectors have to adapt. From January 1, 2025 at the latest, Payback points will no longer play a role at Rewe. FOCUS online says what you need to know.
The supermarket giant Rewe and the bonus card provider Payback will go their separate ways from the end of 2024, the company confirmed in a press release and in a statement to the “Lebensmittel Zeitung”. The industry service had previously reported on the separation in its online edition a few weeks ago and referred to insider circles.
Rewe and Payback were in talks to renew the current contract. This expires at the end of 2023. There were disagreements over the duration.
Payback wanted to renew the partnership until the end of 2028, the Rewe Group only extended the contract until 2025 for the branches of Rewe, Penny, Toom or DER Touristik. According to the industry service, payback contracts with a term of five years are common in German retail.
“Payback and Rewe are currently in the final phase of contract negotiations,” both press offices said on request. Now the confirmation came. Rewe’s press office explains: “After the contract expires, the Rewe Group would go its own way.”
Rewe and Penny apparently want to raise their own point system. The reason for the payback separation is apparently the high costs and the Rewe Group’s desire to be able to evaluate customer data in a more targeted manner. The group is collecting more and more of its own data via the Rewe and Penny apps and via the successful online delivery service.
In the past few months, corresponding job advertisements have appeared again and again, which prove the structure. Most recently, seven positions were advertised in the “Loyalty Program” area – including a number of manager positions.
Apparently, the discount giant Lidl is the model for their own points system. With the Lidl Plus app, branches can, for example, react more specifically to the shopping behavior of customers.
According to the insiders, Payback also offers the evaluation of the data, but access to the master data of Rewe customers is limited. Additional services are billed separately by Payback. The cooperation with Payback is said to cost Rewe almost 150 million euros per year.
The Rewe Group’s payback exit from 2025 will affect customers in the Rewe, Penny and Toom stores. You could then no longer use the cards in the branches. The same applies to travel bookings at DER Touristik.
Payback would lose one of the most important partners in German retail. Rewe, on the other hand, is an important sales driver. A total of over 31 million cards are currently in circulation, of which 12 million cards come from Rewe customers and five million from Penny customers.
While Rewe wants to establish its own points system, Payback is already looking for a replacement behind the scenes.
Aldi could appear as a potential new partner of Payback. The discounter giant currently has no active customer loyalty program. However, customer loyalty plays a decisive role in the supermarket.
In Germany there are several ways to collect points when shopping.
The most important providers are Payback (dm, Rewe and Penny) and the Deutschland Card (Edeka, Marktkauf and Netto Marken-Discount).
Retailers such as Lidl, Hit, Tegut, Rossmann, Kaufland, Budni or Müller Drogerie rely on their own systems.
If you show your customer or points card every time you make a purchase, you will often receive vouchers that you can redeem directly. This makes shopping cheaper.
However, thanks to the bonus cards, retailers know the exact age of their customers, how much money they spend per purchase and which products are bought regularly and on which days of the week.
More and more coupon providers are also getting into the data business. The CHIP colleagues have put together the right downloads for Smhaggle, Sparpionier, KaufDa or MarktGuruhaben for you.
