Categories
Close
Menu
Menu
Close
Search
Search

Featured Articles

Opinion

Nectar only really cares about iPhone owners

Mark

Share:

Print

Rate article:

No rating
Rate this article:
No rating

Mark Bridge writes:

Never mind customer loyalty, if you don't have an Apple iPhone you're a second-class consumer. That's the message I seem to have received from Nectar, the multi-retailer loyalty card company.

They've just sent me an email with a headline that reads "Exclusive bonus points offers at your fingertips". It goes on to say "Get the handy new Nectar app FREE on your iPhone or iPod Touch and receive exclusive bonus points offers at Sainsbury’s, Homebase, BP and many more great brands."

Apparently the app's been available for a few weeks, although I hadn't noticed because – oh, the shame – I don't have an iOS device. Therefore I won't be receiving the "exclusive bonus offers only available on the app". That's right, special offers only available if you have a particular type of mobile phone or music player.

Now, I realise that the idea of Nectar is to persuade you to alter your shopping habits in order to favour participating retailers. Visit Sainsbury's. Buy petrol from BP. Redecorate with Homebase.

There's even an internet search toolbar for Internet Explorer and Firefox. Which, unlike the iPhone app, is available to the majority of Nectar card users. The app is simply one step too far.

Rewarding a fragment of your customer base is no way to please the others. So please, please, can we call an end to this i-obsession?  I know I'm not the first to ask – Steve Dobson has warned against being "Apple happy", Tomi Ahonen has spoken of "App Store hysteria" and Martin Wilson diagnosed "iSyndrome". But this time it's personal.

If I want my loyalty card on my mobile phone, I'll trust Cardmobili. I'm certainly no longer a fan of Nectar. Because, for a company that talks about loyalty, Nectar has an odd way of rewarding it.

Nectar email

Comments

Collapse Expand Comments (0)
You don't have permission to post comments.

Opinion Articles

ExclusiveLast week at The Fonecast: 2nd April 2012

Mark Bridge writes:

It’s always a relief when April Fool’s Day doesn’t fall on a work day, isn’t it?  Still, that didn’t stop the jokes. Even though the mobile industry traditionally tends to head to the pub for a roast dinner and a pint on Sunday, there was many a prank in the morning of April 1st.

Our friends at 51Degrees.mobi revealed left-handed device detection, Google prepared to run mobile ads on phones with dials, Phones 4U introduced Gnomes 4U femtocells, Nokia made a Windows Phone device out of ice… and so on.

ExclusiveLast week at The Fonecast: 26th March 2012

Mark Bridge writes:

It’s been a week of ups and downs for the mobile industry.

It started with good news as Apple – fresh from hitting 3 million new iPad sales – announced its plans to spend some of the $100 billion sitting in its decidedly non-mobile wallet. There’ll be a quarterly dividend and a share buy-back scheme.

ExclusiveNew product overtakes old product: why the surprise?

Mark Bridge writes:

Sometimes I’m a simple soul. This is one of those occasions. I simply don’t get what all the fuss is about.

Sales of Windows Phone 7 smartphones have overtaken Symbian device sales in Great Britain for the first time ever. Yes, the new heavily-promoted mobile phones from Nokia are more popular with consumers and retailers than those using the obsolescent Symbian OS. Windows Phone 7 now has 2.5% of the British smartphone market, compared with 2.4% for Symbian.

RSS
First4243444547495051Last

Recent Podcasts

ExclusivePodcast from Mobile World Congress 2015

Mark Bridge learns about the mobile technology trends at Mobile World Congress 2015 by chatting to James Rosewell of 51Degrees, Dr Kevin Curran from the IEEE and Chris Millington of Doro.

They talk about wearable devices, wireless charging, mobile operating systems and much more... including some of their favourite products from the exhibition.

ExclusiveLooking back at February: from security scares to multiple MVNOs

We're taking a look back at the biggest mobile industry news stories from February 2015, including allegations that the UK's security service tried to breach SIM card security by hacking into one of the world's biggest SIM producers.

We also talk about the planned BT and EE merger, the creation of two new UK virtual networks, some acquisitions in the mobile payment arena and a new Ubuntu smartphone.

ExclusiveA month of mobile: O2 counts on 3, Microsoft counts to 10 and Apple counts its profits

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.

RSS
12345678910Last

Follow thefonecast.com

Archive Calendar

«July 2026»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
293012345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
272829303112
3456789

Archive