Foodstuffs hits hurdles with new Club+ loyalty rollout
Friday, 19 June 2026
Shoppers have reported check-out scanning failures with the new Club+ app barcode, delays receiving verification codes, and discounts not showing up until the final payment screen.
Users were automatically logged out of their long-running New World Clubcard accounts on Monday, with the old loyalty scheme officially set to shut down by July 27.
While the new scheme requires a smartphone app barcode at check-out, customers wanting a physical card must order one via the app's account section and wait for mail delivery.
Foodstuffs has acknowledged “a small number of issues” that have been raised by customers during the rollout of its new loyalty scheme.
On Monday, shoppers were logged out of accounts for the more than a decade-old New World Clubcard, with the old scheme set to close by July 27.
The new scheme, Club+, allows shoppers to scan for special deals, get fuel discounts and earn points (Club+ Dollars) across the three Foodstuffs supermarkets (New World, Pak’nSave and Four Square), though points cannot be accrued - only used - at Pak’nSave.
But the rollout of Club+ hasn’t been smooth sailing for all, with some customers highlighting problems with the Club+ barcode on their phone’s app not being able to be scanned at check-out, delays in getting verification codes to set up the app, and discounts not appearing until the payment screen.
A customer of New World Gardens in Dunedin told Stuff they were annoyed on Wednesday when the machine wouldn’t scan the barcode on their phone. An assistant had to swipe a store card to get the discounted price.
A Foodstuffs spokesperson told Stuff they are aware of “a small number of issues raised during the rollout, including some delays with confirmation emails and instances where the Club+ barcode hasn’t scanned”.
They added: “These have been resolved or are being actively worked through, with temporary fixes in place where required to minimise disruption for customers.”
Have you been affected? Contact Stuff
Delays in ordering plastic cards
Some customers said they wanted a physical card, like the old Clubcard, rather than using the barcode in the app at check-out.
If you want a card, it can be ordered in the app (in the “Your Account” section), but customers will need to wait for it to be delivered to their address.
This reporter called the customer service helpline to find out how to get a physical card on Monday afternoon and requested a call back, but by Thursday afternoon no call was received.
A Foodstuffs spokesperson told Stuff they were aware some customers have experienced delays receiving a callback.
“We know this can be frustrating, so we’ve expanded our customer services team to respond to the increased demand and help keep on top of queries. We expect to have cleared outstanding callback requests shortly.”
And what about the fuel discount vouchers?
Stuff asked Foodstuffs if the fuel discounts will remain for casual shoppers, or if Club+ membership is now required.
The spokesperson said fuel discounts are now loaded directly to customers’ Club+ cards or apps for use at participating fuel sites.
New World and Pak’nSave customers who do not use Club+ will still get a printed fuel discount receipt, except at the handful of South Island Pak'nSave stores which run their own fuel sites and have not provided printed discount receipts for some time, the spokesperson said.
‘Uptake ahead of our expectations’
Despite the initial hurdles, Foodstuffs says the transition to the new loyalty scheme is well under way.
There had been “strong interest from customers signing up to Club+, with uptake so far ahead of our expectations,” a spokesperson said.
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