The grocery price war in the world's twelfth-largest economy has seen television advertising steadily decrease over the last period for the sector.
Experts at Standard Media Index (SMI), the Australia media and market think tanks, say that supermarket chains' capital is increasingly channelled into pushing in-store signage and social media at the expense of television commercials. Coles and Woolsworth, Australia biggest two grocers, were the central figures in SMI's case study.
The amount of money spent on promoting FMCGs televisually in 2013 was A$423.2 million, while the figure fell to A$381.5 million last year (down 9.9 per cent).
Michael Callaghan, lecturer in consumer marketing at Deakin University, was quoted as saying on Mumbrella, "reduction in media spend could well be indicative of the continued pressure the two big supermarkets are putting on their suppliers to cover their costs."
"It may not just be for in store promotion", he added. "[Coles and Woolworths] have been in trouble with the ACCC [the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission] for putting undue pressure on their suppliers and I think what happens is that management at the two chains go away and find another way to get the savings they want."
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article written by Peter Donnelly.
