{"id":656854,"date":"2026-07-06T07:07:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T05:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=656854"},"modified":"2026-07-06T07:45:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T05:45:24","slug":"woolworths-faces-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/internet\/656854-woolworths-faces-investigation.html","title":{"rendered":"Woolworths faces investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Information Regulator has received two related complaints about Woolworths preventing customers from unsubscribing from spam emails after joining its MyDifference loyalty programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesperson for the watchdog told MyBroadband that it had received complaints about the issue in response to a request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Provided the complaints were properly formulated, that meant Woolworths\u2019 direct marketing practices would be investigated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woolworths shut down its WRewards and MySchool loyalty programmes<\/a> on 1 July, replacing them with MyDifference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the loyalty programmes are functionally identical, with MyDifference only adding more features, there was one catch \u2014 marketing communications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early adopters of the MyDifference programme wrote to MyBroadband to complain that they received frequent marketing emails which they could not unsubscribe from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upon contacting Woolworths\u2019 customer support, the retailer told clients that MyDifference members could not unsubscribe from the programme\u2019s emails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlease note that when you join MyDifference, you will receive all communications related to the programme,\u201d a customer support representative said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you choose to be removed from MyDifference, you will no longer receive the instant discounts and other benefits associated with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, the choice was either to continue receiving direct marketing and other emails from Woolworths or to cancel your MyDifference profile and forgo the discounts it offers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One customer who wrote to MyBroadband said they received near-daily MyDifference promotional emails a few months ago after signing up for the new programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The frequency then became about four or five emails per month. However, since May, MyDifference appears to have sent only one promotional email per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, Woolworths included an unsubscribe link in its 29 April MyDifference newsletter. After that, the frequency of MyDifference emails reduced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MyBroadband contacted the Information Regulator for comment, which provided feedback to questions about how companies must seek consent from customers within the context of a loyalty programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Information Regulator answers questions about Woolworths MyDifference<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Information Regulator confirmed that a company must obtain customers\u2019 consent before sending them further communications when they register for a loyalty programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAny responsible party must obtain consent from a data subject to process their personal information,\u201d a spokesperson for the regulator said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the instance of direct marketing, the Information Regulator said certain exceptions applied, but with restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA responsible party may only process the personal information of a data subject who is their customer,\u201d it stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut only if they have obtained the contact details of the data subject in the context of the sale of a product or service for direct marketing of the responsible party\u2019s own similar products or services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Information Regulator also confirmed that a company must give the customer the ability to opt out with every communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also confirmed that sending the customer an email about a new feature in their shopping or loyalty app would be considered direct marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey must provide a clear opt-out option in every single message,\u201d a spokesperson for the regulator said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe amended POPIA regulations indicate that a responsible party must avail an opt-out process that is free of charge, with no unnecessary formalities, and takes effect almost immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Woolworths is under regulatory scrutiny after refusing to allow customers who signed up for its loyalty programme to unsubscribe from marketing emails.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":654263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[47502,68498,415,8507],"class_list":["post-656854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-internet","tag-information-regulator","tag-protection-of-personal-information-act-popia","tag-spam","tag-woolworths"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656854"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=656854"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":656857,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656854\/revisions\/656857"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/654263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=656854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=656854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=656854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}