Lidl customers have been sent a message through the loyalty app over permissions to do with their data this week.
The supermarket has asked customers if it can share their shopping data with Google and Meta, Facebook’s parent company – meaning users who agree could be shown targeted ads on those platforms.
The notification said: “We use Lidl data to tailor the marketing you see on Google, Meta and The Trade Desk partner platforms. also transfer your device identifiers based on in-app actions to these partners.”
However, a spokesperson has confirmed that customers can choose to opt-out and do not have to consent to this.
The Lidl Plus app was launched in 2020 and offers users exclusive competitions and non-personalised discounts which change weekly. It also has a reward scheme with personalised discounts that change depending on how customers use the app.
In the terms and conditions section of the app, it explains that by allowing permission, Google and Meta could play personalised ads to app users. Lidl can then get information from its advertising partners about how the ads played and “draw statistics from this”, which allows it to “measure the success of individual advertising campaigns”. Meta, it says, also processes the data for its “own purposes”.
A Lidl spokesperson told The Grocer: “In addition to cookies and tracking technology which are necessary for the app to function and display content, we provide customers with the option to consent to both the tracking of app usage and to share data with third-party providers for digital advertising.”
This allows it to “tailor the marketing that the user sees to help ensure that it aligns with their interests”. The decision over whether data is shared is “entirely at the customer’s discretion”, they said, adding that consent could be withdrawn at any time in the app’s setting.
“Without consent, Lidl adverts may still appear, but they won’t be tailored to the individual,” the spokesperson explained.