I have a feeling that the current economic environment is causing some merchants to rethink their approach to loyalty and rewards. Here’s why.

There is a very large, well known player in the grocery segment here in the Northeast that has long been regarded as a loyalty program innovator. They were one of the first to issue plastic loyalty cards and key fobs and have even tried things such as hand-held item scanners and digital grocery carts. I don’t usually shop at this chain since there aren’t any that convenient to me, and so I never had the motivation to sign up for their loyalty program which is the only way to get discounts on selected items in the store.

This weekend, I found myself on the hunt for, of all things, hanging cedar blocks for my closets. Since it was a holiday weekend, I had few options. I decided to visit one of this chains’ stores not too far from my home. While there, I ended up picking up a few other grocery items, many of them also deeply discounted as part of their rewards program. I was sort of bummed that I didn’t have a loyalty card since I would have saved about $10 on those items.

At checkout, I chalked up the fact that the cashier did not ask for my loyalty card to the notion that most card-carrying members are trained to produce the card unprompted. But, to my surprise, and to my delight actually, I also noticed that the advertised discounts were in fact being applied to my items too. The total charged to my debit card reflected the $9.80 in savings afforded only, or so I thought, to loyalty club members. At least for that transaction, it didn’t take a swipe or a tap to get the same savings that the person in front me got by using her card.

Now, this could have been the store’s way of celebrating the holiday weekend or it could have been a system mistake. But, I wonder if it isn’t a subtle shift to a practice that eliminates the cost and friction associated with “loyalty clubs” in favor of one designed to lower prices to everyone so that as many people as possible come into the store to shop. If that is the case, what, then separates this “loyalty program” from good old fashioned price discounting? And, if this is the trend, are merchants trading off the chance to develop a profitable, loyal following for foot traffic that tends toward the more opportunistic customer?

Kinda makes you wonder if loyalty has lost its way.