Co-op offers £10 discount to members following recent cyber attack

Co-op is offering its members a £10 discount on a minimum £40 shop, as the retailer continues to recover from a cyber attack last month that resulted in the theft of customer data.

The one-off promotion, valid for a week starting Wednesday, is available to existing Co-op members and new sign-ups, but excludes staff.

The grocery chain stated it is “very near to making a full and complete recovery” from the incident, which came to light in May, and its 2,300 stores are returning to usual trading.

The cyber attack compromised Co-op’s technology networks, leading to the theft of past and present member data. To mitigate damage, the retailer shut down its systems, which caused behind-the-scenes disruption and resulted in customer complaints about empty shelves due to disrupted fresh stock deliveries.

A Co-op source indicated that the offer is a proactive step ahead of summer trading, given the recent strong pick-up in sales as stock levels normalize. However, retail consultant Catherine Shuttleworth suggested the discount might be an effort to win back members who may have started shopping elsewhere.

She noted that the £40 minimum spend is a “very high threshold for a convenience business,” with the average Co-op shop typically ranging between £10 and £15. Shuttleworth believes the offer is unlikely to see “huge redemptions” and that members might prefer practical assistance with data security over a discount.

The Co-op views the £10 off as a “gesture of appreciation” to its 6.5 million members. The BBC understands that the Co-op currently has no plans to offer fraud prevention or identity monitoring services. Shuttleworth estimates the cyber-attack to have cost Co-op “millions of pounds” in lost sales, seeing the discount as a “call to customers to come back”.