Loyalty cards pay off for Tesco

Tesco's sales have risen sharply on the back of its loyalty card, which has more than 6 million members. In the 20 weeks to the end of December, Tesco's like-for-like sales were 8.5 per cent ahead of the same period last year. This was better than the industry average of 5.6 per cent. Christmas sales were also strong with like-for-like sales up by 10 per cent.

The figures exclude William Low, the Scottish chain, which increased sales by 20 per cent in the 20 weeks to 30 December.