The principle of low prices alone does not seem to attract consumers so much. Because despite aggressive special offers and growing advertising expenditures the discounters lose to supermarkets according to a recent study of the society for consumer research (GfK) opposite supermarkets. While the supermarkets and hypermarkets such as Rewe or Edeka in Germany increased their sales in the first half of the year by just over two percent, Aldi , Lidl and Co. were practically on the spot. They only achieved growth of 0.1 percent, as reported by GfK in its most recent market analysis.
The discounters have recently gone to great lengths to become more attractive to their customers. Aldi and Lidl, for example, invested billions in the beautification of their stores and increased their advertising spending significantly over the past few months. Practically on a weekly basis, the two arch rivals also offered branded goods at wholesale prices - but apparently with modest success. According to GfK, the price has noticeably lost importance in purchasing as a decision criterion in recent years.
Price has lost significance as a decision criterion
"If we ask consumers why they go out and do business, the discounters still refer to the price and speed of shopping as the main reasons," said GfK retailer Robert Kecskes. For categories such as "I enjoy shopping there" or "I feel comfortable there", the discounters still lagged far behind the supermarkets and the drugstores. That was a weakness.
In the first half of the year, drugstores such as Rossmann and dm were able to increase their sales the most - with a plus of around 2.8 percent. They would have benefited not least from a "ceasefire in price competition", says the GfK study.