British retailers just don't get it

A friend of mine recently told me about a fab scheme in which she'd become involved. Its a new loyalty card for small independent retailers, cafes, hairdressers etc.,called a Wedge Card. It offers discounts to cardholders who naturally expect to quickly recoup the cost of the card from the discounts. The aim is to encourage people to buy from local businesses and so counter the cancer of the global chains that are turning our towns monochromatic.

Yesterday I received the "Wedge" magasine. As expected, it had articles about new entrants and unusual businesses who'd signed up to the scheme. All very encouraging. But what shocked me was that of the 40 odd featured classified ads, 25 had 'conditions' attached to the discount (e.g. 10% off on products over £50 bought between 10 and 12am on Tuesdays). So, instead of going the extra mile to win us over, these retailers only want our loyalty if we are worth it to them

Loyalty comes from generosity - unconditional generosity.

Sadly, until they get real, these businesses will provide no compelling reason for us to change our shopping habits.