Carrefour has stopped its distribution of paper leaflets and brochures in the Antwerp and Brussels regions, industry publication Gondola Group reports. According to the French supermarket chain, the move to withdraw the paper advertisement has been popular, and will soon be rolled out in other cities next year.
The decision is largely motivated by a sharp rise in paper prices. “We have been testing digital brochures for five years now, for various reasons: customers are increasingly digital, paper is becoming more and more expensive and it has a major impact on the planet,” said company spokesperson Siryn Stambouli.
Initial tests carried out by Carrefour in large urban centres show that the digitisation of its paper advertisement has been successful. For rural areas, the move towards digital advertisement is set to be “more difficult” and paper brochures will be in circulation for a longer period.
“The brochures will remain available in the store and customers can consult the promotions via our website, e-news, social media, and tools such as the apps from Carrefour, Stocard, and myShopi. We try to reach as wide a public as possible through digital media,” the spokesperson said.
The supermarket giant’s brochures remain popular in Belgium, especially with price savvy customers looking to find the latest deals in the face of record high prices. Despite this, most major supermarket chains are looking to ditch the paper format brochures and leaflets in the face of high prices.
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In Belgium, low-cost supermarket Lidl has already scrapped its paper brochures, instead putting advertising on its milk cartons. In France, several major retailers have also stopped distributing paper brochures.
It is still unclear when the paper brochures will be withdrawn from other Belgian cities. Carrefour insists that customers who still wish to receive the paper edition can make a request through the supermarket’s official website.
