Matalan - Matalan Card

Matalan Card

Matalan has a card system that it employs within its stores. The card was originally used so that only certain people could shop at the store, similar to the Makro membership card. However as the years went on they changed the system so that anyone could join and get a Matalan card for £1. The membership card was needed to process items through the tills because there was no way of buying items without a card. Then around 2003 Matalan removed the £1 charge for the card. The card is now no longer needed to process transactions, however employees are encouraged to make as few sales as possible without the card. The card acts as an incentive to customers by offering them:

• cardholder discounts and exclusive offers;
• the use of the card also enables a hard receipt to be stored on the store computer system, allowing refunds without the receipt.
• vouchers by e-mail OR post, including one on the cardholder's birthday;
• a number of partner offers;
• mailer updates on new products and offers.

In 2006, Matalan trialed a reward scheme using points on the Matalan card in Scottish stores. At the same time, a keyfob was introduced as an alternative to the card, similar to Tesco Clubcard. However Matalan decided not to roll out this scheme to the rest of the stores, and concentrate on offering more to the customer in store.