In a retail landscape already dense with loyalty schemes, Bunnings has entered New Zealand's market with a programme built on deliberate simplicity — $500 spent for a $5 reward, a ratio that reveals as much about the retailer's philosophy as it does about the economics of customer retention. The move positions Bunnings against Mitre 10's own membership offering, as both hardware giants compete for the habitual loyalty of New Zealand's home improvers and tradespeople. Consumer advocates remind us that loyalty, when institutionalised, carries a quiet cost: the data we surrender and the prices we