In a recent survey of food retailers in Shoprite and Spar stores, nearly three- quarter of people spoken to said they’ve increased their promotions in an effort to adjust to the needs of consumers and redirect them to branded products.
Much of the aggressive discounting is focused on staple products such as cereal, milk, egg, yogurt, frozen foods, pastries, canned products, and items sealed in sachets and so on .
Half of the retailers said they would ensure that the heightened level of promotions and price reductions last for sometime.
Although grocers operate on fairly slim profit margins, they said they’re able to offer aggressive discounts because consumers typically buy regular-priced items.
Sometimes, retailers also offer bundled deals, with this, consumers buy an item from one department in a particular store and get another item in a different department in the same store, but at a discount.
Yesterday, a shopper Nnena Agu was pleasantly surprised that the N3,960 she spent at Shoprite bought her more items than she expected.
She said, in addition to getting low prices, she picked flyers and hand bills from competing chains to compare prices just to get the best discounts that stores are offering. “I notice that grocery stores have dropped their prices and I think they are doing the right thing especially now that there is fuel scarcity. It will help many of us cope.
The Manager, The Bazaar, Mr. Femi Johnson said: “Consumers are approaching shopping more aggressively now by searching more for promotions, sales and doing less impulse buys. That is why we’re trying to be as innovative as we can based on what our customers want and need.”
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