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How to shop smartly in 2024

Want to make the most of your spending this year? We’ve put together the ultimate guide.*

With exclusive offers for our customers, the best store loyalty cards and apps, birthday vouchers, retailer apps and recycling discounts, here’s how to shop smartly in 2024 with Drake Circus and The Barcode.

1. Exclusive offers for Drake Circus and The Barcode customers

We work closely with our brilliant stores to ensure we’ve got exclusive offers all year round. With special discounts, two-for-one offers, limited edition menus and sales, always visit our Offers page for the latest news, deals and up-to-the-minute sales in store.

Whether you have a Blue Light card, work in the military or are a student, you can use our tailored guides to find out the latest special offers and which stores and restaurants have discounts just for you (Cineworld, Cosy Club and Oliver Bonas to name a few).

2. Sign up for store loyalty cards to make the most out of your shopping

Spend smartly with our stores’ loyalty cards – build up your points for money off your buys, receive personalised offers, special gifts and birthday vouchers as you spend.

Click on the handy links below to sign up now.

Boots, Boux Avenue, Claire’s, Footasylum, H&M, Hotel Chocolat, Holland & Barrett, JD Sports, Levi’s, Mango, Marks & Spencer, New Look, Pandora, Rituals, River Island, schuh, Smiggle, Superdrug, The Fragrance Shop, The Perfume Shop and Waterstones.

Boots Parenting Club gives you extra points, discounts and freebies.

Brewdog, Bubble Citea, Burger King, Costa, Franco Manca, Krispy Kreme, Las Iguanas, Nando’s, Slim Chickens, Starbucks, Zizzi and Yo!

3. Treats for birthdays

Free cake at Costa… a surprise gift that could possibly be a free meal or bottle of bubbly at Las Iguanas… A free box of chocolates from Hotel Chocolat. Free shakes and cakes at Kaspa’s Desserts. Make the most of birthdays with treats, vouchers and special offers galore.

Costa, H&M, Hotel Chocolat, Kaspa’s Desserts, Krispy Kreme, Las Iguanas, Superdrug and Zizzi.

4. Make the most of family days out

Be More Childish as adults pay kids’ prices with the Cineworld Family Ticket (valid for groups of four with up to two adults) while Movies For Juniors means tickets are just £2.50 for adults and kids. Adults must be accompanied by children so treat the little ones in your life to an exciting big screen adventure.

There’s also Cinebabies screenings with free tickets for those under 18 months and special family snacks offers. See them all here. Plus if you’re a film buff you can’t miss out on the Cineworld unlimited card.

If you’re Three customer, you can also get £3 Cineworld tickets from Friday to Sunday. Buy a product via Compare The Market and sign up to Meerkat Movies for two-for-one cinema tickets on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (they’ve also got discounts on dining out once you’re signed up to the app).

Paradise Island Adventure Golf also has incredible offers for military personnel, emergency service staff and their families, carers can go free and more. See their offers here.

5. Kids eat free or for £1

There are lots of welcoming food and drink places that offer kids eat free or for £1 with loyalty discounts and during the school holidays. Keep an eye on the following to see what their latest deals are.

Brewdog, Marks & Spencer (£4 outside of holidays) and Yo! Sushi.

6. Recycle for money off

Get £25 off at Oliver Bonas and £5 off at River Island
Oliver Bonas and River Island have teamed up with Reskinned. Simply sign up to their scheme, send off your items and you’ll receive a voucher to spend in-store.

£5 off at H&M
Receive a £5 voucher (to be redeemed against a £25 shop) if you recycle a bag of unwanted clothes or textiles from any store in any condition at a branch of H&M.

50p off with every recycled Lush item
Stop your old Lush bottles and tubs from going to landfill and get 50p off your next purchase with their Bring It Back scheme.

£5 off at schuh
Receive a £5 voucher (to be redeemed against a £25 spend) when you bring an old pair of kids’ shoes (any brand) to schuh.

Recycle at Boots – and get an extra 500 points
The ‘Recycle at Boots’ scheme is aimed at hard-to-recycle beauty, healthcare and wellness products that cannot be put in recycling bins at home. Shoppers at Drake Circus can gain up to 500 Boots Advantage Card points when you spend £10 in-store.

Shwop at Marks & Spencer
Every time you place pre-loved clothes in one of Marks & Spencer’s Shwop boxes they’re resold, reused or recycled. If you’re a Sparks customer, you’ll get a free treat every time you Shwop. Simply scan the QR code on the top of the Shwop box in any M&S clothing store and the treat will appear in your Sparks hub.

7. Loyalty schemes for card holders for special discounts and cashback spending

Sign up for loyalty points with Nectar and Virgin Red and also check discounts and cashback offers on debit cards including Monzo, Santander, Natwest, Barclays, RBS and more. Also, don’t forget to check out the latest offers on Groupon and Wowcher.

Discover the latest offers, discounts, sales and free treats at Drake Circus and The Barcode and follow us @drakecircus

*Offers and details are currently available as of March 2024 but are subject to change. Please check directly with retailers.

Last updated Thursday 2 May, 2024