Well, this is interesting! From RetailWire:
Safeway’s Loyalty Program Makes Print Ads Obsolete
Safeway could be ready to stop running print ads as early as the end of this year, according to the company’s chairman and CEO Steve Burd.
Speaking last week to a group of analysts on Safeway’s fourth quarter 2012 conference call, Mr. Burd said the company had cut millions of dollars on newspaper ads and replaced them with personalized offers delivered digitally as part of its Just 4 U loyalty program.
“As people become more digital, there’s an opportunity, which we’re working hard at, [to] actually get out of the paper ads and make the ad itself personalized for every household,” said Mr. Burd.
Can you envision not getting a store’s ad at all? While I am slowly embracing all things digital and have now become both SmartPhone Girl™ and Tablet Girl™, I still greatly prefer my paper, print ad to go through, make notes on, and hold in my hands versus looking at an ad online. Is this a good idea for Safeway stores, or is this an as ill-fated idea as JC Penney’s pledge to phase out accepting cash payments by the end of 2013?
The comments below the article are interesting too, with one reader stating “If Safeway proves this out, there will be a tsunami of retailers exiting or cutting way back on print… The challenge here is, of course, how do you talk to and convert people who aren’t shopping with you today and aren’t in your database?”
Read the entire article at RetailWire
letsshop says
They would probably die if that happened !Can’t imagine no sale adds to looks at and compare )O: And price matching .Wow how terrible this could be .
stringofpearls says
I live in one of the northern suburbs and we don’t get a Dominick’s flier anymore, and there is one about 1.5 miles away. We stopped receiving the flier in the Wednesday Tribune about 2 weeks ago. Needless to say, since we don’t know what’s on sale there, we haven’t really gone there recently. Getting online and waiting for their JFU stuff to load is too inconvenient for me. My family and I are still very skeptical of the online coupons on the Fresh Values card, since there were several times they did not come off and we don’t always have the time to chase the savings at the customer service desk. We’ll see how this one plays out.
bookmaven says
I go directly to the J4U website to see what my deals are for the week. When I’m done I may take a quick glance through the paper ad, but I’ve already seen all the deals at J4U, and they’re usually better than what’s in the paper ad anyway. I probably won’t miss it.
naisula says
Ugh, I am all for technology and everything, but I am not a fan of paperless ads. I, too, prefer to see it and write on it. Other times, I like to just sit on my couch and flip through them quietly without staring at a screen. I look at it somewhat like kindles/e-books. While they can be great (easy to carry multiple books around, no “bulk” or storage space issues), sometimes it’s nice to just hold a real book in your hands. I wonder how this will work out… sigh.
The one reader made a good point (how will you reach people who don’t go there already?) And I agree with others… out of sight, out of mind!