Printed leaflets still have the greatest influence on receipt size, frequency and customer loyalty, especially in food retailing. This is the conclusion of the new ChannelUP Index, which IFH MEDIA ANALYTICS has determined in collaboration with MEDIA Central in the quarterly study "ChannelUP - Consumer Insights on 360° offer communication". REWE's prominent departure from brochures in July 2023 raised questions about the tried-and-tested medium.
But what happens when the preferred medium for communicating offers is not in the letterbox? Half of those surveyed consciously missed it, with the result that more than a third (38%) visited the advertiser that no longer delivered it less often. In addition, 46% of consumers do not actively search for offers from the food retailer in question on other channels.
The remaining 54% of consumers prefer to use the grocer's website (36%), leaflet websites or leaflet apps (35%) and the retailer's app (35%) as alternative sources of information.
"At REWE, we can currently observe the "What happens if..." case. The discontinuation of leaflets leads to a strengthening of digital channels, above all the website and the REWE app. There is great future potential here, especially in terms of customer loyalty through personalised offers. However, some customers - often occasional shoppers - have not yet opted for an alternative channel. Not losing these customers is a major challenge. But if it succeeds, it will be a forward-looking way of addressing target groups with advertising," predicts Andreas Riekötter, Managing Director of IFH MEDIA ANALYTICS.
Which channels do REWE customers use? The REWE app is primarily used (54%), which consumers consider to be a real alternative. However, 50% of respondents still state that they receive less information about REWE's offers overall.
As usual, we are closely monitoring all developments in offer communication for you. ChannelUP Vol. 4 will be published in November 2023, until then we would like to invite you to our Web Talk on 15.08.23 at 2 pm together with IFH MEDIA ANALYTICS, where we will go into more detail about the current publication!
About the study
"ChannelUP - Consumer Insights on 360° offer communication" is a series of studies by IFH MEDIA ANALYTICS in cooperation with MEDIA Central, which analyses up to 14 different channels of offer communication in various retail sectors once a quarter and determines the ChannelUP Index. The ChannelUP Index indicates how different channels of offer communication increase the loyalty, frequency and receipt levels of retailers. To this end, 1,000 consumers are surveyed in a representative online survey. The survey in the third quarter of 2023 took place at the end of July 2023 and focused on food retailers. The special topic of the third survey was channel changes such as not receiving leaflets, installing a new app or obtaining a new online brochure via WhatsApp. These channel changes were examined in an excursus chapter, particularly at REWE, which discontinued its leaflet advertising on 1 July 2023.
The entire study can be downloaded here free of charge.
Special thanks to FUNKE Mediengruppe as premium sponsor of this study.