Due to the high inflation, customers are paying more attention than ever to the costs of their daily shopping. They are now more likely to opt for those items that are now available at a reduced price. The chains respond with more offers such as “-25% stickers”, 1+1 promotions or mobile phone apps that provide discounts.
Supermarket giant Spar wants to attract even more customers to its stores with a new initiative: since last week there is a special mobile app that allows customers to save. The “-25% joker” would be a hit, with which a product can be bought a quarter cheaper if you show the app at the checkout. In campaign periods, there should be a maximum of four jokers at a time.
Vouchers are now also displayed on the smartphone. However, Spar board member Markus Kaser does not want to ignore the tried-and-tested offers on paper: “Every week we offer various savings options, such as exclusive voucher booklets, discount markers, 1+1 promotions, etc.”
The chain thus responds to the trend that Austrians are paying even more attention to their money than ever before when doing their daily shopping due to high inflation. According to the current Payback survey, 55 percent indicate that they will pay more attention to discounts, coupons and promotions this year. Women in particular are particularly price-conscious, as they often shop for their families (see graph). In a comparison of the federal states, most bargain hunters are at home in Upper Austria.
More than a third of the product is already bought “on sale” in the supermarkets. But not only Spar, the other chains also lure with percentages. For example, Rewe (Billa, Penny, Adeg) has the jö app, where customers can collect points with every purchase and convert them into discounts. Boss Marcel Haraszti also has 25 percent minus stickers for Billa sent to those households that allow weekly advertising mail, or he has them added to the dailies. Up to three stickers can be used per purchase. In addition, just like at Spar, there are weekly varying discounts on certain products and product groups. And there are always promotions such as “1+1”, “2+1” or “4+2” that can save up to 50 percent.
Meanwhile, the discounters, who used to rely on permanently low prices, are increasingly advertising discounts. At Hofer, for example, various products are always discounted from Monday to Thursday and from Friday to Saturday. In the brochures, boss Horst Leitner occasionally gives five items a discount to just one euro, or there are groceries for half price. Products approaching their expiration date will have “-25%” stickers as with other necklaces.
Rival Lidl Austria introduced the “Lidl Plus App” in 2018. Customers receive vouchers with percentages on selected items on their smartphone. In addition, as with the savings app, the current folders are displayed. Boss Alessandro Wolf also offers the feature to put discounted products on a shopping list directly in the app.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
