co-op fascia

The Co-op made a big promotional push last month, ramping up the number of featured space deals in stores by almost a fifth.

In total, the Co-op ran 917 featured space promotions in the four weeks to 23 April 2017 - up 18.9% on the previous four-week period and 18.8% on the same period last year [Promo Dynamic Retailers].

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Ambient confectionery deals rose 56.3% year on year to tap into Easter demand, but the retailer also hiked the number of beer & lager deals (up 22.5%), wine (27.78%), meat (57.2%), cakes & pastries (75%) and crisps, nuts & snacks (120%).

Waitrose also increased the number of featured space promotions in stores, up 3.87% year on year to 1342 over the four-week period. It focused on booze - offering more deals on wine (up 22.6%), beer & lager (9.5%) and sparkling wine (44.4%). It also more than doubled the number of deals on oral care (up 141.7%) on last year.

However, the other major mults cut the number of deals compared with last year, with Asda slashing featured space promotions by 15.6%.

Despite ramping up deals on meat (up 37.5%) and ice cream (150.0%), the retailer significantly cut back deals on wine (-56.8%), fizzy drinks (-38.7%) and canned goods (-25%).

At the same time, all of the mults continued to cut average savings on deals. Tesco slashed the average amount shoppers can save on promotional deals by the most - from 35.6% in 2016 to just 27% last month.

The Co-op offered the biggest average percentage saving of 33.5% over the four-week period, but that was down from 36.0% on last year.

“Consumers seem to be getting a very raw deal - fewer offers and less savings,” says Assosia director Kay Staniland. “With suppliers also tightening their purse strings, the shift away from featured space promotions could be purely down to cost.”

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