In times of inflation, more customers have started looking for coupons on the store shelf. Santa Maria noticed this clearly – with coupon redemption increasing by more than 90% in ICA Nära stores over the past six months.
"We work very closely with the stores and have a good dialogue with the retailers," says Emma Haglund-Pappok, field sales rep for Santa Maria at Conaxess Trade. She visits local convenience stores such as ICA Nära and Tempo every day. "I often talk about how important coupons are in the mix of sales materials – and I'm happy to."
Through regular store visits and close dialogue with retailers, Santa Maria's coupons gained a clearer place in the sales mix. The coupons make the product stand out on the shelf, while the retailer doesn't have to fund the discount and can instead benefit from selling more products.
Store manager Jonathan Birkemyr, who took over the store together with his father in 2018, built a new taco section together with Santa Maria. "Our store is in one of the areas with the most children in Sweden, and who's most likely to buy ingredients for Friday tacos if not families with children?" he says.
"You notice a big difference in sales when there's a coupon offer," notes Jonathan. "People are hunting for discounts these days."
Over the past six months, coupon redemption for Santa Maria's products increased by just over 93% in ICA Nära stores, and by around 90% across grocery retail as a whole.
"It's fantastic to see that our work is delivering results," says Emma Haglund-Pappok. "The coupons are almost always gone when we come back."
"For us, saying yes to coupons is a given," sums up Jonathan Birkemyr. "They increase our sales and act as an eye-catcher on the shelf so customers discover the products. We have really good redemption on all the coupons in our store."
Regular store visits and a genuine relationship with retailers made it possible to continually highlight the value of coupons in the sales mix.
By linking the campaign to relevant purchase occasions, such as Friday tacos for families with children, the coupons were especially well targeted.
Because the supplier funds the discount, the retailer can benefit from increased sales without bearing the cost.
