Tesco refuses government Clubcard share plan

The supermarket chain said consumers trusted Clubcard to keep their personal details confidential, and that it is not prepared to reveal the information provided by them.

'One of the key reasons our customers trust Clubcard is because they know Tesco would never compromise on the promise we make them,' said Clubcard director Janet Smith.

'There's no wriggle room, we just don't break that promise. To do so would be to jeopardise not only customers' trust, but also the success of the scheme.'

Last week, Marketing revealed that 15 retail, banking and utilities brands, which belong to lobbying body the Demographics User Group, had been in talks with government officials including Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude (Marketing, 2 March).

It is understood the government wants access to brands' customer data to overhaul the census and cut costs, which are projected to reach £500m.

The Office for National Statistics has made no decision on the future of the census, but talks were said to have stalled over the suggested use of Clubcard data and E.ON records.

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk