Purchase Direct has said dealers using its service plan and service club card loyalty scheme have seen a tenfold increase in take up among their customers in the first six months of this year.

The service club scheme card gives customers access to high street discounts. Members of the scheme can load up a card with cash and use it to pay for their weekly shop and other consumer goods, rather than using a debit or credit card. Cardholders accrue savings which can be used to offset the price of servicing their vehicle.

Although the service club has been available for the past year, Purchase Direct has actively promoted its benefits to dealers after it has worked with retail partners and ensured the infrastructure behind the scenes was in place for use by customers.

Dawn Langlais, Purchase Direct project manager, who manages the scheme, said: “While much of the increase is directly linked with our focus on promoting the value of the service club to our dealers who in turn have passed this onto their customers, it remains an incredible uplift compared to the first six months of the product’s launch.

“Originally, it was an employee discount scheme for both our own company and for our clients when we recognised many of the benefits could be incorporated into our service plan product for motorists. Dealers embraced the scheme because it not only provides the regular benefits of a service plan, but a range of discounts on the High Street and in supermarkets which delivers immediate gains to their customers.

“In terms of monetary savings, it is fairly early days but our data for employee schemes suggests those who make widest use of their cards can save around £500-£1,000 per year, depending on their shopping habits.

“For example, by shopping at a major supermarket using the service club card, savings are typically 5% and you can still bag the supermarket’s own reward points. If the average family spend is around £400 per month, that’s a saving of £240 over the course of the year on its own.”

Currently 12 dealer groups with multiple franchised sites are live with the service club scheme and around 25% of customers are active users of the card.