Safeway Puts Gifts on the Shopping List

Safeway ventured beyond the standard supermarket offering to give shoppers a little of everything during the 2011 holiday season.Safeway’s gift card merchandising business earned a leading role, as it has in previous years. (See “Safeway Highlights Holiday Deals” in Related Articles.) Messages such as “Gift Cards Make Perfect Gifts” decorated endcaps and floorstands merchandising the cards, while the rest of stores overflowed with supporting ceiling signs, stanchions, checkout signs and window clings. Floor decals plugged MasterCard gift cards and aisle violators merchandised iTunes gift cards (both via News America Marketing’s SmartSource program). Various floorstands also merchandised cards providing credits for Facebook and online video gaming including Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox Live.Chainwide, Safeway dangled $15 off a future receipt with purchase of $100 worth of gift cards from Nov. 20-23 and $10 off from Nov. 24 through Dec. 6. From Dec. 7-20, the merchant also discounted select multipack purchases by 15%. Circular features and home-page carousel ads supported. In some stores, card purchases also earned extra Gas Rewards points during select weeks.Joining gift cards on some endcap displays this year was an expanded selection of no-contract phones and calling cards. Aisles, meanwhile, were home to an array of floorstands carrying Net10 Unlimited phones, Ematic ereaders and tablets, and other electronics. Seasonal pallets merchandised additional giftables ranging from Mattel Inc.’s Barbie dolls to assorted stuffed toys, DVDs and books.Permanent DVD racks were also positioned at checkout, near vendor-supplied floorstands for such recent releases as DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda 2 and Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Many home video purchases were incentivized with free snack and beverage SKUs in circular features.In more typical supermarket activity, chains presented themselves as the “Holiday Beverage Destination" throughout December, plugging sales on more than 1,000 SKUs of juice, soda, tea, water and coffee via pole toppers near upfront displays, endcap headers and aisle violators. For loyalty cardholders, the sales event included an additional 50 cents off each product with minimum purchase of eight. Participating items were identified on price labels and in circulars.Elsewhere, aisle violators, shelf signs, window clings, stanchion signs and circular features reprised an offer from the 2010 holidays of 30% off all wines priced at $20 or more. At Dominick’s in Chicago, signs also continued touting the chain’s standard offer of 10% off with purchase of six bottles. (Estancia Wines delivered its own incentive. See Related Promotional Activity.)In refrigerated aisles, Safeway deployed violators that encouraged daily consumption of dairy for the holidays. The signs showcased private-label Lucerne along with national brands such as Kraft Foods’ Philadelphia, General Mills’ Pillsbury, Nestlé’s Coffee-mate, ConAgra Foods’ Reddi-wip and Whitewave Foods’ International Delight. Early in the season, headers and signs on coolers plugged “Great Prices for Thanksgiving,” with some containing a QR code linking to a download of the new Safeway Chef Assistant mobile application. (See “Safeway Prepares …”) Circular features supported.In another familiar strategy, Safeway staged “Daily Deals” events in the days leading up to Thanksgiving and again before Christmas. Among the featured products were General Mills’ Gold Medal Flour, Lucerne butter and Sara Lee Corp.’s Jimmy Dean Sausage rolls for $1.99 each, and Lucerne eggs for 88 cents. Regional radio spots, stanchion signs and circular features supported.Among additional seasonal incentives:All chains promised $10 off a future receipt (redeemable through Dec. 26) with purchase of $75 in qualifying items from Dec. 16-18. Most chains also ran the offer from Dec. 2-4 (redeemable through Dec. 11). In-store signs and circular features supported.Also in early December, circular features at all chains promised $2 off the purchase of four “Holiday Baking” items including J. M. Smucker Co.’s Crisco, General Mills’ Betty Crocker and Kraft's Jet-Puffed.Randalls and Tom Thumb ran features offering a free 16- or 24-pound frozen turkey with purchase of $100 or $150 during the week prior to Thanksgiving.Dominick’s dangled $10 off a Butterball LLC or Hormel Foods’ Jennie-O turkey with $35 purchase that week, and from Dec. 11-25 delivered a circular coupon for $10 off a future receipt with purchase of $35 in Safeway ham.The holidays proved no exception to Safeway’s steadfast focus on private label. Upfront floorstands merchandised limited-edition flavors of Safeway Select coffee (holiday blend, peppermint mocha and pumpkin spice). Ceiling signs plugged Waterfront Bistro shrimp and cocktail sauce under a “Holiday Shrimp Headquarters” message, while aisle violators touted party-size Safeway Select entrees. The company also continued expanding its offerings, using ceiling signs to promote new Rancher’s Reserve tender beef and aisle violators to plug new zero-calorie drinks in the Refreshe line, new varieties of Safeway Select cookies and frozen appetizers, and an entirely new line of frozen appetizers from The Snack Artist.Stores also made room for national holiday materials from manufacturers such as Kraft, Peet’s Coffee & Tea Co., Hershey Co., Mission Foods, Diamond Foods, Kellogg Co., Pinnacle Foods, Del Monte Corp., Sergeant’s Pet Care Products, Procter & Gamble and Cumberland Packing Corp.Among holiday cause marketing, the retailer staged another round in its company-wide “Help Us End Hunger” food drive, employing table displays and dump bins to encourage purchases of pre-packed bags for donation. Partner Kraft donated $400,000 in total to several food banks in each of Safeway’s operating divisions. Circular features and carousel ads supported.In one example of numerous additional local efforts, Dominick’s held its “2011 Holiday Food Drive” earlier in the season. Supporting stanchion signs and dump bins carried the logos of the Greater Chicago Food Depository, TV station ABC 7 Chicago and the Northern Illinois Food Bank. Take-ones distributed at checkout let shoppers donate $1, $2 or $5. Circular features supported.

P2PI MEMBERS

JOIN P2PI

You May Also Like

CPG Partners Leverage Kroger for the Holidays

In-Store Experience: BJ’s Wholesale Club