In yet another controversial action in the supermarket price wars, Coles is launching a loyalty card, not just to their loyal shoppers, but to almost every mailbox in Australia.
The FlyBuys card mail out will be one of the biggest in Australia’s history, with eight million cards set for delivery.
Producing and mailing the cards, and the advertising that goes along with it has cost the supermarket giant a pretty penny; believed to be in the tens of millions of dollars.
But Coles boss Ian McLeod is adamant that the new, simplified card which carried over points from existing FlyBuys cards will make that money well spent.
The new card will double the rewards, with one point earned for every dollar spent, and the ability to cash in the card at the till.
"Instead of waiting three years to earn enough points to buy a toaster, from day one, customers can start earning," McLeod said.
Coles is also embracing web marketing and sales, giving buyers the ability to log onto a website and select deals and convert points.
It follows a spectacular social media fail by the supermarket giant earlier this year, when it asked Twitter users to finish the sentence “In my house it is not a crime to buy…" to which some people vented their spleen about Coles ripping off farmers, putting Australian food producers out of business and the poor food quality, amongst other things.
As part of its FlyBuys relaunch, Coles has also partnered with companies including Webjet, Telstra and AGL.
FlyBuys was launched more than two decades ago and today has amassed more than 5 million active card users.
Are you an active FlyBuys user? Do you agree with Coles mailing the cards to everyone and will it change your shopping habits?