The S Group reports an increasing number of young adults among its regular customers, with four million Finns currently in possession of the S-etukortti. Last year, the group paid out record bonuses to its loyal customers, a sum totaling nearly 450 million euros, which is an increase from the previous year’s total of 414 million euros.
The group’s results indicate that each customer owner received an average of 205 euros per year. This sum includes the bonus, payment method advantage, surplus refund, and interest on the installment payment. In January, the S Group paid out historically large bonuses to its loyal customers, amounting to approximately 52 million euros, including the S-bonus and other cash benefits.
The number of S Group customer owners has also reached a new record. By the end of the year, the group had nearly 2.6 million customer owners, representing about 46 percent of Finns. For Finns of legal age, this figure is even higher, at 56 percent.
Anyone can become a frequent customer of the S Group by paying a membership fee of 100 euros, which can be refunded if you decide to give up customer ownership. The group’s report suggests that the increase in regular customers is linked to economically challenging times, as people are more likely to centralize their purchases in order to maximize benefits. The same logic applies to the loyalty programs of K Group and Lidl.
The S Group lowered the prices of its cheapest Xtra products last year and again in January. The group’s CEO, Hannu Krook, suggests that the discounts were a factor in the growth of the group. He is particularly pleased with the increase in young adult customer owners, with more than 110,000 new members joining cooperative stores during the year.
K-rympa, Finland’s second largest retailer, also announced price reductions of all K-Menu cheap brand products. According to a press release by Kesko, the price reductions average five percent and can be as high as 30 percent. The K-Menu brand includes about two hundred basic products, mostly foodstuffs.
