Scott said on Tuesday that while there were similarities between Prime and OnePass,Wesfarmers was working hard to differentiate its program by adding perks for in-store shopping.

“What will be unique about the OnePass program over time is that it’s a true omnichannel membership program,” he said. “Prime is an online program and has the streaming benefits — but from a retail point of view,the OnePass program will be a very broad,omnichannel program for in-store,click and collect and online.”

Wesfarmers said it would add Officeworks to OnePass in the first half of the 2024 financial year,and would expand rewards available under the scheme,including in-store benefits,though it did not outline specifically what these may be.

‘Honeymoon is over’

Scott said on Tuesday that the company had long been expecting retail trading conditions to slow after the COVID boom.

“I would say that now the honeymoon is very much over,” he said. “It was very predictable,and I feel that our businesses are very well-prepared. We’ve been expecting this for the last 18 months or more.”

Scott was upbeat about trading at Wesfarmers’ key brands – which include Target,Bunnings and Kmart – saying that their focus on everyday essentials put the company in a strong position.

“We expect value to become even more important for customers,and we are seeing that today … with more customers trading down within categories and increasing their share of spend in more value-orientated products,” he said.

“This benefits us,not just in reinforcing the core of what our businesses do,but we’re also seeing a trading down into some of our businesses,which is improving the number of customers that are trading with us.”

Wesfarmers is not the only retail giant pointing out the continued focus on value in the current retail environment. Coles and Woolworths have also highlighted the success of theirhomebrand ranges as shoppers look to stretch their dollars further.

Wesfarmers shares opened stronger and were up by 0.5 per cent in afternoon trade to $49.30.

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