Marks & Spencer is trialling a premium version of its Sparks loyalty card with a £120 upfront fee.
Members of the new Sparks Plus scheme will get additional benefits to regular Sparks customers, including a monthly £10 voucher, a free coffee each month from any M&S cafe and unlimited free nextday M&S deliveries.
M&S told Money Mail that the trial is being rolled out to existing Sparks customers and it will await the outcome before making a full-scale launch.
Premium Sparks loyalty card: The trial is being rolled out to existing Sparks customers
Experts say the move would guarantee M&S upfront cash from regular shoppers.
Sparks customers have the chance to win their shopping for free every week across all 1,487 stores.
M&S has more than 16million Sparks members, of which there will be around 77,000 winners each year.
Other perks include tailored offers via the app each week, donations to a charity of your choice every time you shop, and free M&S food magazines, which usually cost £2.
Sparks customers can also claim one free drink for every six that they buy in-store.
Achille Traore, chief executive of customer retention firm White Label Loyalty, says the timing of the trial may raise eyebrows as households struggle to pay the bills, but it makes sense from a business perspective.
He says: 'It's an interesting step to launch an expensive subscription in the current climate.
'But M&S has a loyal customer base, and it's those people it's looking to appeal to.
'It's clever because this way M&S secures investment up front while also capturing new customer data.'
You can't earn points to spend in store with Sparks or Sparks Plus, as you can with many loyalty schemes. Unless you have an old Sparks card, you need to download the M&S app on to your smartphone to access the loyalty scheme - it became app-based two years ago.
The retailer says it's had 4.6million app downloads to date.
Sparks customers can claim one free drink for every six that they buy in-store
The latest trial comes after M&S rolled out its instant credit account, Sparks Pay, last October. This allows Sparks customers to borrow up to £500 to spend online or via the app, with 45 days interest-free.
M&S plans to widen the service to the High Street later this year.
It is not the first supermarket to go down the premium loyalty route, with Tesco launching Clubcard Plus in November 2019 to help those doing big regular shops.
For £7.99 a month, perks include 10 per cent off two shops of up to £200 a month, as well as 10 per cent off Tesco brands, such as its F&F clothing line.
The Co-op also offers a paid loyalty scheme at a cost of £1. Members get 2p in rewards for every £1 spent on selected products and 50p for every £20 spent on branded food.
Customers are also given discounts on other services, such as 5 per cent off life insurance policies.
M&S's competitor Waitrose doesn't have a premium version of its loyalty scheme, but its regular MyWaitrose card offers a range of freebies, including a hot drink with any purchase, weekly personalised vouchers and free Waitrose Food magazines.
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