Valasssis Survey Reveals Supermarket Media Preferences

LIVONIA, MI—July 9, 2012—Valassis shared the results of a study indicating that 90 percent of grocery retailers still use weekly circulars as their promotion of choice, although they clearly expect the increased influence of social media and digital channels to greatly impact their tactics within the next five years. This was among the findings of the “Supermarket Media Usage Study” of 60 leading grocery decision makers, representing approximately 50 national and independent grocers/chains. The survey was executed on behalf of Valassis by Stagnito Custom Media.

“This is the first survey of its kind seeking input from decision makers in the grocery retail sector and provides insight into their promotions, success metrics and future promotional strategies,” said Pierce Hollingsworth, editorial director, Retail Leader.

When it comes to effectiveness, the study revealed that 75 percent of grocery retailers realize increased results from print circulars, which drives their preference. More specifically, 50 percent indicated increased sales and 25 percent cited increased customer retention.

The study also found that grocers are adapting their media tactics in response to declining paid newspaper circulation, and have decreased their newspaper-distributed circulars within the past year. As a result, 26 percent of respondents reported increased usage of mail-delivered and online promotions.

Grocers are developing strategies for the targeting and distribution of their circulars by using a combination of internal sales data and consumer insights. Among the findings:

• 90 percent say customers plan differently by trip type, and
• 82 percent believe consumers are making more buying decisions at home than three years ago.

Two-thirds of respondents also indicated they expect that social media/Internet channels will be a more significant component of their media plans within five years. Sixty-five percent of respondents expect that over the course of the next five years, social media/Internet marketing will be the medium of choice for grocers to meet sales goals

“The consumer decision-making journey is more involved than ever,” asserts Therese Mulvey, Valassis vice president, Marketing Intelligence. “Media preferences are changing, due in great part to consumers’ desire to be connected. It is no longer a ’how we use print versus digital’ question. It is a ’how do we best optimize our marketing dollars to maximize the ROI on both.’”

Additional highlights of the study revealed efforts grocers have put in place to address the changing consumer landscape:

• 65 percent have ethnic marketing initiatives;
• 60 percent have initiatives to address varying shopping trip types; and
• 35 percent have generationally-based initiatives.

Mulvey recently conducted a webcast on the “Media & Consumer Landscape – Navigating the Path to Purchase.” To view the webcast and learn more about the consumer’s influence from awareness to purchase, go to http://bit.ly/ISPbDJ.

About Valassis
Valassis is one of the nation’s leading media and marketing services companies, offering unparalleled reach and scale to more than 15,000 advertisers. Its RedPlum media portfolio delivers value on a weekly basis to over 100 million shoppers across a multi-media platform – in-home, in-store and in-motion. Through its digital offerings, including redplum.com and save.com, consumers can find compelling national and local deals. Headquartered in Livonia, MI, with approximately 7,000 associates in 28 states and eight countries, Valassis is widely recognized for its associate and corporate citizenship programs, including its America’s Looking for Its Missing Children program.

Source: Valassis.