85% of Italian families choose them for shopping – Corriere.it

The rush of discounters doesn’t stop. The data of Nielsen IQ relating to the autumn months record, in fact, an 11% growth in turnover. This is a higher increase than that of other types of outlets: from the supermarket, which stops at 9.9%, to drugstores specializing in household and personal products, just over 10%.

85% of families attend them

The phenomenon is even more interesting if we consider that discounters show, compared to other formats, less promotional pressure. In particular, in the September-October two-month period, the percentage of sales on the total achieved through “price cutting” operations amounted to 13.6% against an overall average of 22.6%. Further confirmation of the channel’s success comes from the data relating to its diffusion. In fact, as indicated by Gfk, discount stores are now frequented by over 85% of Italian families. This is a percentage that, in recent years, has grown steadily, going from 79% in 2018 to 81% in 2020 up to the current 85.3%.

A format for many targets

Everyone does the shopping in this type of shop today: from large families, who find multipacks and convenient offers, to singles who are passionate about cooking, who go in search of particular ingredients. Specifically, according to GfK Sinottica data, an increasingly marked propensity emerges from three segments of the population: food lovers (4.2 million Italians – above all women, with high knowledge and skills in the kitchen), food players (4.4 million Italians – young, advanced, love to experiment in the kitchen, with an eye to the line and sustainability) and urban tasters (8.8 million Italians – adults, citizens, with good economic resources).

All the reasons for success

Where does this boom come from? Surely competitive prices play an important role but they are not the only element. A decisive aspect represented by the evolution of the assortment. If, that is, in the past only substantially anonymous brands could be found on the shelves, today it is also possible to buy established brands and niche products, which are difficult to find. An interesting example is represented by the line of organic solid cosmetics from Lidl, which includes shampoo, conditioner, face cleanser, shower gel and body oil. Two other elements that have played in favor of the discount are investments in communication (TV campaigns, social media activities, “classic” flyers, etc.) and the restructuring of sales outlets, which have lost the spartan air of the past to become increasingly more pleasant and “experiential”.