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An update to the terms and conditions of GAME’s long-running reward scheme means the value of points has been effectively halved. The base scheme previously provided £2 to spend for every £100 spent but now provides £1 per £100 instead.
Speaking to MCV, the company said: "This change is due to wanting to have more points based events, campaigns and the opportunity to earn more points on specific products throughout the year, in order to deliver that we have made this adjustment."
That means consumers will be tempted with more big offers, rather than a constant drip-feed of points. Whether GAME actually gives out as many points in 2018 as it did in 2017 we’ll just have to wait and see.
We also suspect that providing the offer in an increasingly tough online market makes it hard for the company to match the ‘onscreen’ prices of key competitors – such as Amazon. It also provides clearer benefits for the company’s Elite rewards card.
GAME has confirmed to MCV that the Elite reward card is unaffected by the change. Elite members pay £36 a year for additional perks and will still get the same 10 per cent, 4 per cent, 2 per cent split, on physical games, hardware and pre-owned purchases respectively.
The reward card has been around for a very long time. With the database of members dating back as far as the company’s previous incarnation as Electronics Boutique.
While the benefits are now modest, they’re should be sufficient to keep members handing over their cards, which in turn provides GAME with useful marketing information – though the shift, from cash in store to debit card and online purchases – means that information and the ability to mail out to members has been hugely reduced over the last decade.
