As of: January 23, 2024, 9:43 p.m
By: Christoph Gschoßmann
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Penny dared to take a controversial action: demand more money and show the “true costs”.
The difference was donated.
This is how the customers reacted.
Munich – There was a lot of excitement surrounding Penny’s “true cost campaign”.
Many people, including politicians, complained about the artificially raised prices, while others praised the discounter for its foresight.
The research results of a study have now been published in which 2,255 people were asked about their purchasing behavior before and after the promotional week.
One of the results: Sales figures did not fall as much as expected.
The study on the campaign was carried out at the end of July 2023 by scientists from the Nuremberg University of Technology and the University of Greifswald.
Penny charges “true prices” for a week – customers buy less, as expected
Penny had collected the “true” prices for nine selected products for one week - i.e. the amount that would actually have to be charged when all environmental damage caused by production was taken into account.
As a result, products from cheese to Vienna sausages became up to 94 percent more expensive.
There were lower markups for organic products.
According to its own information, the retail chain wanted to create more awareness of the environmental impact of food production.
There were interesting results from the Penny discounter's “true cost campaign”.
© Oliver Berg/dpa
It was expected that with such high markups on the price, many customers would not cooperate.
But according to the study authors, this was not the case.
Among other things, this is due to the accompanying science communication and the connection with the donation.
84 percent of customers who bought the products despite the price increase said that the donation was a strong reason for the purchase.
The supermarket chain Penny, which is part of the Rewe Group, donated the additional income - supplemented by a corporate donation of 50,000 euros - to a project for climate protection and the preservation of family-run farms in the Alpine region.
According to the company, a total of more than 370,000 euros was raised.
“True Prices”: Penny customers don’t buy as much less as expected
Although the number of sales did not fall as sharply as expected, Penny still sold fewer of the products overall than usual. There were regional differences: In the new federal states, the decline in sales figures was particularly severe at up to 70 percent.
In the west and south of Germany, sales of promotional products fell the least; in many places it was only up to 50 percent.
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Example calculation: This is how the surcharge of the penny additional costs for Vienna sausages is made up
Normal retail price:
3.19 euros
+ Climate:
0.94 euros
+ Water:
0.09 euros
+ Floor:
1.17 euros
+ Health:
0.62 euros
Total:
6.01 euros
These regional differences could be attributed to various factors such as income or interest in sustainability, the scientists write.
However, sales have fallen throughout Germany.
The high price in particular was one reason why customers said “no”: 85 percent said it was too high.
Penny: Many people are becoming more aware of the true cost of food
One in two people said that the penny campaign had made him or her more aware of the true cost of food.
However, 46 percent of those surveyed also said that in their opinion the campaign was just marketing and had no positive effects.
After all, almost two thirds (64 percent) even knew about the campaign.
“After the campaign week, the estimates of additional costs for the true costs increased, both for products that were previously overestimated and for those that were underestimated.
This shows that those surveyed have realized that the true costs are higher than originally assumed,” said project manager and resource economist at Nuremberg University of Technology, Tobias Gaugler.
But Gaugler also summed up: There is still no differentiation between different products among customers.
The researchers want to focus on the inclusion of social factors in the future.
The scientists also want to address the problem of which measures could be useful for the sustainable transformation of the food system.
(cgsc with dpa)