VOL. 18, NO. 4 / FALL 2023 / URNER BARRY'S REPORTER • 5
Major retailers dropping
print circulars
The digital age of grocery ads has begun.
Gone are the days when weekly grocery
store ads and specials appeared with the
Sunday edition of the newspaper-at least
for some consumers across the country. Now,
retailers are targeting shoppers digitally.
In May 2023, Kroger dropped weekly
grocery ads in newspapers.
The company said on Twitter that the
decision was made due to the declining
circulation of newspapers and news outlets
deciding to axe their print editions. The
brand said that physical weekly ads would
be available to pick up at stores. The
move, according to CNN, would impact its
subsidiaries as well, including Ralphs, Fred
Meyer and King Soopers.
Fellow retailer Giant Eagle made the same
change, however, the firm reverted to
printed circulars again but in a more succinct
two-page edition with QR codes that direct
customers to its website for even more deals.
Albertsons Companies, another grocery
mainstay, announced a partnership in July
with advertising firm Kargo and Meta, the
parent company of Facebook and Instagram,
to evolve its own digital circulars, marking
yet another major player in the space looking
towards the future.
The company believed the new partnership
would meet consumers where they are. Now,
shoppers can add products to their carts right
from ads seen on Meta's social platforms.
Albertsons said future plans include a rollout
display and connected TV, along with
dynamic localization and personalization to
improve engagement and sales.
In the backdrop of the circular digital
revolution, the landscape of in-store ads
has also entered a new age. While there will
likely be traditional grocery endcaps for a
long time coming, interactive displays like
the one's Freeosk provides signal a more
modern grocery shopping experience.
Freeosk is a retail media firm that operates
a multisensory kiosk display that brings
free samples into the 21st century. Retailerowned cooperative Wakefern
signed a deal
to bring Freeosk's to 95 grocery stores.
The company said its campaigns generate
average sales lifts of over 50%.
Grocery TV is another company looking to
provide a new way to market to shoppers
while they are walking up and down aisles.
The company currently operates 19,000
displays that reach over 43 million shoppers
in brick-and-mortar locations.
Entering the digital age…
As companies drop printed ads and
introduce modern technology to their
stores, the industry is shifting more and
more towards a modern and digitally reliant
experience, potentially leaving some of the
older population behind.
For decades, shoppers have relied on ads
appearing in their newspapers that display
the new deals on produce, packaged food
and of course, protein options. That's had
an impact on the elderly population in
some cities.
Media reports from local outlets in
Pittsburgh and South Carolina both cited the
impact the lack of weekly newspaper ads
will have on the elderly population. Many
shoppers don't have access to cell phone
apps or are not tech savvy to navigate to
grocery store apps to find weekly deals
that would have previously arrived at their
doorstep or in their mailbox.
Kroger had this to say after a customer
complained about not having the physical
circular appear in their mailbox every week:
"We appreciate you reaching out to us. As a
result of declining newspaper circulation and
many of our partners reducing or eliminating
physical distribution of their newspapers,
we're changing the way we get our circular
to our customers to ensure they're receiving
it in the way they prefer."
Article contributed by Ryan Doyle
rdoyle@urnerbarry.com
Photo provided by Freeosk
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