Sky News: Tesco to open Clubcard to under-18s this year after pressure over access

sky news coverage shows Tesco intends to make its Clubcard available to under-18s this year, a change aimed at widening access to loyalty discounts that can reduce grocery bills. The announcement follows extended campaigning that highlighted age, address and digital barriers to loyalty schemes.

What happened and what’s new

The supermarket has said it is actively reviewing its Clubcard with the intention of allowing under-18s to join during the current year. The Clubcard grants discounts across thousands of products, including popular meal deals, and lets shoppers collect points that can be converted into vouchers.

Campaigning groups pressed supermarkets to relax eligibility rules after research showed many customers are excluded from lower prices because of requirements tied to age, address or digital access. One consumer campaigner withheld a recommended-provider accolade from the supermarket twice over the issue while pushing for change.

Existing variations in other retailers’ age rules were outlined in coverage: several large supermarket chains require customers to be 18 or over to join loyalty schemes; one chain allows sign-up from 16; two drugstore chains permit sign-up from 13; some supermarkets allow younger shoppers to be added to a parent or guardian’s account or to access discounts through a parent’s login.

Sky News: Behind the headline

Why now: loyalty schemes are a competitive lever as food prices rise and retailers seek ways to hold onto customers. Loyalty cards both offer discounts and allow retailers to collect purchase data that can inform pricing and promotions. Pressure from consumer groups and public-facing grading of retailers’ accessibility to discounts appears to have pushed the supermarket to review its rules.

Stakeholders and incentives:

• Young shoppers and families: stand to gain direct access to Clubcard prices and the ability to collect points independently.
• Tesco: may broaden its customer base and improve public perception while continuing to use loyalty data for commercial advantage.
• Campaign groups: secure a policy win after sustained advocacy and public pressure that highlighted exclusionary practices.
• Other major retailers: may face pressure to follow if the supermarket implements changes at scale.

What we still don’t know

• Exact implementation timetable: the supermarket has not specified when the change will take effect.
• How eligibility and verification for under-18s will be handled in practice.
• Whether any restrictions will remain based on address or digital access.
• How quickly other supermarkets will adjust their own rules in response.

What happens next

• Implementation: the supermarket puts the change into effect this year, enabling under-18s to sign up and immediately access loyalty prices and points; trigger — publication of new sign-up rules and rollout in stores and online.
• Phased rollout: the change is announced but staged, with online account changes preceding full in-store acceptance; trigger — guidance on verification and account linking for younger customers.
• Delay or revision: the supermarket reviews the plan and defers implementation while refining safeguards or verification methods; trigger — a further public statement or revised timetable.
• Competitive ripple: other retailers follow suit, adjusting age thresholds or parental-account options; trigger — public commitments from rival chains or changes in their sign-up policies.

Why it matters

For households on tight budgets, access to loyalty discounts can be meaningful: comparative work cited in coverage found that using a loyalty card at the supermarket in question can reduce the cost of a large shop by roughly eight percent, with deeper discounts on some individual items. Allowing under-18s to access those prices could ease costs for younger shoppers and families where children shop independently.

Commercially, widening eligibility preserves the retailer’s ability to collect purchasing data across a broader customer base and strengthens loyalty-program reach at a time when margins are under pressure. Politically and publicly, the move represents a response to advocacy that framed age-based exclusions as an obstacle to fair access to lower prices.

What to watch

• Official guidance from the supermarket about when and how under-18s can register for Clubcard accounts.
• Whether the supermarket specifies verification requirements tied to age, address or digital access.
• Responses from other retailers that may indicate a wider market shift in loyalty eligibility rules.