Vodafone severs links with Nectar

Marketing 13-Jul-05, 11:20

Vodafone is ending its two-year relationship with Nectar as it refocuses its rewards strategy on offering customers cheaper calls.

The mobile giant, which will quit the rewards scheme at the end of next month, is already 'exploring alternatives', said a spokesman.

Industry insiders have speculated that the operator did not feel it was getting sufficient value out of its status as a points collection partner.

However, the spokesman said this was not the case and that Vodafone had decided to end the deal after 'repositioning our focus of price plans in terms of rewards'.

Like most operators, the company is concentrating its efforts on offering competitive deals on handsets and tariffs, and this is expected to be reflected in future loyalty initiatives.

Vodafone is the second major company to withdraw from the Loyalty Management UK-owned scheme in the past month. It follows Barclaycard, which announced its exit last week.