Asda, Tesco & more shoppers 'locked out' of money saving deals

Shoppers at the stores who do not have smartphones are being “penalised” by missing out on deals on apps and devices, experts have warned.

Certain groups, such as pensioners, could be paying “disproportionately more” for their weekly shop than they need to, with only 69 per cent of over 65s owning and using a smartphone.

That number is lower for the over 75s, with Age UK reporting that a third of over 75s, around 1.6 million people, have no access to the internet at all.

Older shoppers at Tesco, Asda and more are being 'locked out' of money saving deals, experts have warned (Image: Getty/Image Source)

Caroline Parkes, chief strategy officer at global marketing agency RAPP, told The Telegraph: “Increasingly, offers are being pushed purely in the digital space.

“With such high levels of over-75s not using the internet, let alone having a smartphone or being able to understand how apps work, you’ve got a huge proportion of what can be a very vulnerable part of society who cannot get access to [certain deals].”

Dan Wilson, vice-president of supply chain consultancy firm Proxima, warned that major retailers were keen for customers to install loyalty apps on their phones due to the amount of data they can harvest.

He told the Telegraph: “They can see if the customer saw an offer and then acted on it and bought the product – apps help them close the loop.

“They can see if the customer saw an offer and then acted on it and bought the product – apps help them close the loop.”

Graham Wynn, of the British Retail Consortium, which represents retailers, said: “Retailers are committed to providing value to their customers, and loyalty schemes, which are open to all, are one of many ways that retailers offer their customers genuine bargains on a daily basis.”