Ready for the turn?
But are consumers ready to go digital, Ms. Héroux?
“Sales are a great indicator,” she says. Customers can also make their point and we are there to listen to them. The proof is that we reintroduced the circular printed in several places, several weeks. We could have been abrupt and not reintroduced it, but it’s important to support customers as much as possible. Unfortunately we can’t do it for every customer, ”she replies.
Better context
Full professor in the marketing department of the University of Sherbrooke and researcher at the Chair in electronic commerce, Jean-François Guertin is not surprised by Maxi’s vision. The grocery store had tried to abandon its paper flyer twenty years ago and had reversed its decision a few months later, he recalls. And that was long before the Internet and all the digital apps that are available today to attract consumers to stores.
“Of course Maxi is a low-cost banner every day, a bit like Super C or Walmart, where the margins are small and where you make money on volume,” he explains. The impact of the printing cost of this promotional tool is much greater on the finances of a Maxi than on those of an IGA. Hence the temptation to wonder how to reduce expenses in the hope that it does not affect ridership? “
The bets are open, but the context is undoubtedly better today than 20 years ago, according to him.
“There is an abundance of applications with features that are super interesting, if you think of Reebee, Mespromos, Checkout 51 or Flipp. Their problem is that they are not well known. If people would experience it and see how it can make their shopping easier, I think the adoption would happen quickly. And if a Maxi, for example, made a partnership with one of these applications and would promote it at the same time as this application would give privileged access to Maxi’s promotions, maybe it could be a win-win. Right now we’re eliminating a way to promote [la circulaire imprimée] without offering an aftermarket option. “
The pandemic is also bringing about changes in the habits of consumers that could benefit digital technology. For example, the popularity of online grocery shopping has “exploded” from one percent of sales a decade ago to 3% before the pandemic and perhaps double it. moment.
Another advantage in favor of digital technology: it makes it possible to gather very precise information on the habits and tastes of customers and to adapt the offers accordingly, observes Mr. Guertin.
“Some might say it’s an invasion of privacy, others will say, on the contrary, that it provides value-added information for their grocery basket.
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