Market Track: October 2011
Overall, there was a slight upward trend in both size of inserts and circulation, with a 5% increase in the number of pages per insert and 2 % increase in the average number of inserts across markets.
In 2011, Walmart increased page count and inserts by 110% and 85%, respectively. The increase was driven by more Halloween themed flyers, which were dropped a week earlier than last year. Walmart also dropped an additional eight-page Halloween-themed flyer the Sunday before Halloween, a new strategy versus last year. Further activity was driven by an additional flyer promoting the return of Walmart’s Christmas Layaway on Oct. 16.
Meanwhile, JCPenny reduced the pages per inserts, particularly during its second week, while increasing the number of flyers.
Home Depot did not have as many flyers this month versus last year. Only one circular of 28 pages was dropped in all the markets. In the third week circulars were dropped in only two markets, while the rest of the markets did not see any promotions.
Lowe's and Safeway made their inserts heavy while reducing the frequency of insert by 30% and 27%, respectively.
Sears, Macy’ East and Best Buy not only increased the size of their inserts but also increased the frequency.
Kmart and Walgreens adopted a different strategy by maintaining the number of flyers dropped, but increasing the number of pages. Meanwhile, Target and Kohl’s maintained the number of pages per insert, but increased the frequency of drops.
It’s important to note a number of factors that should be considered when examining the number of inserts and pages retailers send into the marketplace. Market Track’s granular level of data reflects regional versioning and market specific differences. This is accomplished through an extensive collections process, including physically obtaining the ads from the various markets in which they are distributed. In the instance that retailers send additional circulars to a limited number of markets, Market Track’s information reflects these nuances through numbers with decimals (for average number of inserts per market) and odd numbers (for average number of pages).
About Market Track:
Market Track is a market intelligence firm dedicated to increasing customers’ returns on their promotional investments. Through innovative technology and marketplace expertise, it monitors and analyze over 200 U.S. and Canadian markets for every channel of trade in order provide retailers and manufacturers with superior tools to monitor promotional activity, support dynamic decision making and turn information into market intelligence. For more information, contact Market Track at 1.800.235.3781 or email [email protected].