Elke Wilgmann one: Ms Wilgmann, Mr Weiß, why has REWE decided to stop printing the flyer from July 2023?
Stefan Weiß: We had often thought about how to deal with the flyer and whether it was still the right medium. However, the weekly offers are very important to us. Digitalisation finally offers us the right opportunities: The new media mix with apps, digital steles, WhatsApp and much more allows us to distribute our offers without wastage. And it is also very sustainable. Because the savings are enormous!

one: How can we imagine the process that preceded this decision?
Stefan Weiß: You have to realise the scale of this decision: We are making history by abolishing the printed flyer! Ultimately, the decisive factor was the test with a hundred stores in Saarland: rural in character, purchasing power not very high, very high proportion of promotions. Here, we even performed slightly better in the stores than in the stores with printed flyers, although we did not communicate very loudly.

Stefan White one: REWE is a pioneer in Germany. What will happen without printed flyers?

Elke Wilgmann: It's important to communicate to customers that the 300 offers per week will continue to be available. We communicate them via our own channels such as our app, the newsletter, the website and at the PoS (point of sale). For the rest of the year, however, we are also extremely present on digital flyer portals, in daily newspapers, radio and TV. We have a wide range of media here, which we will utilise to the full - well into next year. In this way, we fully reinvest the printing costs saved on the flyer and thus maintain a high level of visibility for our offers.

one: How can the stores best support the transition?
Stefan Weiß: By making their pre-orders in at least the same way as usual. The offers must be presented well at the PoS and be clearly visible. The digital steles in the stores are an important gateway to providing the relevant information right at the start of the shopping process. But the PoS remains crucial.

Elke Wilgmann: We are also relying on all of our employees again here. I am convinced that we will master the transition brilliantly as a team. The help of each individual contributes to our success: For example, anyone who uses our app out of conviction will find it much easier to get family, friends or customers to use the app too.

Stefan Weiß and Elke Wilgmann in conversation with REWE PR Manager Frauke Weber one: How are customers being prepared for the changeover?
Elke Wilgmann : The countdown is already underway: we are launching a major campaign in June to coincide with the publication of the last printed flyer, which will show consumers where they can find our offers. We also announced the discontinuation of the printed flyer last summer for a reason. This allowed us to use the time to regularly draw attention to the changeover on our channels.