New marketing offensive in the war in which the giants of mass distribution are stubbornly waging.
At the maneuver, the German Lidl, which has already caused a sensation with, in particular, its very limited series of sneakers at less than 13 euros in December 2020. A pair had even been offered for resale for 4900 euros on Leboncoin.
This time, the brand is unveiling a series of three cars bearing its image, in collaboration with the Mini brand.
At the origin of this new concept, an April Fool's Day broadcast by the specialized magazine Auto Moto.
An article announced with great fanfare the release of a low-cost SUV in the colors of Lidl, ironically called Silvercrest, named after a mixer robot that the discounter's customers have snapped up.
“Faced with the Silvercrest SUV, Dacia has a lot to worry about
,” joked the editorial staff of Auto Moto, Dacia being renowned for its low-cost SUVs.
The joke had created the event on social networks, until it was shared on Lidl's Twitter account.
A few months later, a yellow, blue and red Mini Cooper appeared in a promotional video for the brand, ostensibly presented by Michel Biero, marketing director.
“We thought it was a great idea,
he says facing the camera,
so we decided to do this car.
The three Minis
will not, however, be offered for sale, as were the sneakers, tap shoes and other pullovers before them.
They constitute the three prizes of a competition organized by the brand on its Lidl Plus application, which celebrates its first year of existence in France in a few days.
Since Wednesday, customers registered on the application have a chance to win one of three cars stamped Lidl for every 30 euros of purchase.
The only constraint for the winners: driving for at least six months with the flocking, before Lidl agrees to pay any deflocking costs.
With this operation, which
"costs three times nothing"
specifies Michel Biero, the discounter's strategy is to recruit
"several hundred thousand new customers",
to
"increase the average basket
" and to increase registrations on Lidl Plus, which already had 6.435 million registrants on Tuesday.
A figure blown to
Figaro
by the director of Lidl France who can consult the number of registered at any time
“live”
.
"When I get up, it's the turnover that I look at"
The Lidl Plus application above all helps to build customer loyalty, which has long been the weak point of the discounter on the French market.
While the company manages to recruit many new customers – its market penetration rate stands at 66% – it is still struggling to retain them.
“
Only 43% of the expenses made at the German discounter are by buyers for whom it is the main brand, when this rate reaches 81% at Leclerc.
This gap alone explains the differences in market share of these distributors
,” explained Claire Tirard, account manager for distribution services at NielsenIQ recently.
Loyalty programs can also increase the shopping basket.
Michel Biero explains that a customer registered on Lidl Plus spent on average 50% more in store than the others.
An independent study, conducted by NielsenIQ, shows that in Germany, where the loyalty program started earlier than in France, spending by customers registered with Lidl Plus was 39% higher than that of the average customer.
The boss of Lidl also explains that the slice of 30 euros of purchase necessary to participate in the game is slightly above the average basket spent in its supermarkets.
Read alsoWith its loyalty program, Lidl captures many customers
Since its first establishment in France, in Sarreguemines in 1989, Lidl has continued to conquer market share.
These increased further by 0.3 points in the first half of 2022, to reach 7.6%, ahead of its compatriot Aldi (3%), but still far behind Carrefour (20%) and the leader Leclerc (22.4%) .
“
Lidl's objective is not to increase market share,
however, nuance Michel Biero
.
When I get up in the morning, it's the turnover that I look at, that's what matters to me.
»
