UK’s largest multi-partner loyalty programme teams up with major water supplier and will use reward points to incentivise behavioural change in water usage

Nectar360, which owns and operates Nectar, the UK’s largest coalition loyalty programme, has partnered with Severn Trent to reward customers for adopting smart meters and reducing water consumption.

The trial Severn Trent Nectar programme – a first for the utility sector – is being rolled out with support and funding from the water regulator Ofwat’s Innovation Fund, in recognition of this pioneering approach to driving water-efficient behaviours.

Nectar account holders will be able to accumulate extra points when they adopt and demonstrate usage of a smart water meter. Points will also be awarded for reaching water usage reduction targets. A key additional benefit for participants will be lower energy and water bills when they adopt the behavioural changes encouraged by the pilot.

The incentive pilot, scheduled to run for at least a year, will launch in November 2024 and is expected to eventually reach up to 25,000 customers in selected smart meter areas. The smart meters will provide data throughout the period of the incentivised pilot to help measure its impact.

The initiative will grow Nectar’s loyalty programme into yet another sector, offering customers a helpful new way of earning points. The partnership is another example of how Nectar continues to develop relevancy and choice with consumers, while delivering even more value for both customers and its thriving network of partners, including Sainsbury’s, Argos, British Airways, Esso and American Express®.

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Amir Rasekh, Managing Director at Nectar360, said: “Our partnership with Severn Trent is an industry first, using a loyalty programme to drive and reward positive behavioural change in how consumers use water. The pilot helps members save money while also being more sustainable in their consumption habits.”

Tanvir Razvi, Business Strategy and Development Manager at Severn Trent, said: “Partnering with Nectar360 – with support from Ofwat – represents a huge milestone for us in propelling our sustainability objectives while delivering value for money and a positive customer experience. As an industry, water companies have been tasked by the government with bringing domestic consumption levels down to 110 litres per person per day and we’re exploring different and innovative ways to achieve this. As part of the pilot, customers can earn points based on measured water consumption thresholds, encouraging them to save water while also saving money.”

As this is a trial, Severn Trent will be inviting specific customers with active Nectar accounts to register with ‘My Smart Tracker’ – which will in turn provide access to informative consumption data – and complete a household survey to allow them to track usage against targets.

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Severn Trent is the UK’s second biggest water company. It serves 4.8m homes and business customers in England and Wales. Its region stretches from mid-Wales to Rutland and from north and mid-Wales south to the Bristol Channel and east to the Humber. The company delivers almost two billion litres of water every day through 50,000km of pipes. A further 93,000km of sewer pipes take waste water away to more than 1,000 sewage treatment works. For more information, visit: https://www.stwater.co.uk/.

Nectar is the UK’s largest, most engaged with and most recognised multi-partner loyalty programme. Nectar’s unique coalition model brings together over 500 of the nation’s biggest and best brands in one digital-first programme, including Sainsbury’s, Argos, British Airways, Esso and American Express®, alongside the UK’s favourite online shopping brands via Nectar eShops.

The programme delivered personalised, accumulated value for our customers across all key areas or their household spend, while offering our partners a proven loyalty proposition at scale that drives customer engagement and incremental commercial impact over the long-term.

The Nectar programme currently has 23 million members, and issues 50 billion Nectar points annually. The digital version of the programme, launched in 2019, has attracted over 18 million members, who collect, on average, three times more points by using the app. For more information, visit: https://www.nectar360.co.uk/what-we-do/nectar-loyalty-programme.