Although they have taken markedly different directions of travel with Clubcard and Nectar respectively, one senses that both retailers had identified a degree of disenchantment among their shoppers concerning loyalty cards.

Indeed, both businesses have diluted the benefits of the points accrued through their respective cards over the last couple of years and shoppers have not been shy in terms of expressing some dissatisfaction.

Antipathy is by no means limited to Nectar or Clubcard, in particular. TCC Global research shows that a typical UK shopper owns five loyalty cards but uses just three. Around 70% of shoppers want to be rewarded for their loyalty by more than just a loyalty card. And only 6% of shoppers would stop shopping with a retailer if their loyalty card scheme was scrapped. In short, small plastic rectangles are no longer cutting the loyalty mustard.