As part of its plans shared in April 2023 to attract one million new member owners by 2028, the Co-op is now already half-way towards this target by reaching the milestone of 5 million active member owners.
The member owned business, which is the UK’s largest consumer Co-operative has invested £90m overall into prices in 2023 with member owners now saving 7.5% on average on essential everyday items such as milk and eggs in comparison to what they would pay at other convenience retailers.
Highlighting the growing resonance of member ownership, this is now at 8 year high, and mirrored within the wider membership and turnover of Co-operatives which are both up year on year[1].
The news comes as other retailers spend millions of pounds in the battle of the Christmas adverts. Co-op is doing things differently this festive season and keeping it simple by focusing on the ‘gift of community spirit’, calling on donations from its member owners and customers, with a pledge to match the funds raised.
The power of co-operation has long been demonstrated by Co-op and its member owners every day of the year, as together they have supported over 36,000 Local Community Fund causes, totalling over £100million.
More members are choosing to spend £1 to become an owner of the Co-op, and as a result this year members are choosing to shop more frequently as well as benefitting from lower prices. with over 1.3m members selecting personalised offers via the app and 17 million transactions at the Co-op every week.
Co-op members have an opportunity to select how the business supports communities, as well as having the opportunity to have a say in how the business is run. The business is set to further reinvigorate member ownership when it unveils its new strategy for growth in early 2024.
Shirine Khoury-Haq, CEO of the Co-op said “We’re putting our member owners at the heart of our Co-op. Our member owners don’t just benefit from our best prices and exclusive offers, but they also have a say in how we are run, and the opportunity to support the causes closest to them and their communities. This Christmas we are going even further to make a difference in local communities by matching member and customer donations to local communities.”
Co-op’ has 5m active Members, many of whom have unused personal rewards sitting on Co-op membership wallets, an average balance of around £5 per active member. The more Members who take the action to donate those balances, alongside any customer donations, the more significant the impact of collective, cooperative power becomes, and even more benefit can be felt by community causes across the UK.
Funds raised will be shared equally between all current Local Community Fund causes and paid out to them in early 2024.
Active Co-op Members can donate now, by logging in to the Co-op Membership app. To make a difference in their community all year round, all Co-op shoppers can become a member for just £1 – in store, online or via the Co-op app.
[1] Co-operatives UK – Co-op Economy www.uk.coop/economy
