Finance, grocery | New figures: store closures and range cuts

Tonsberg (The newspaper online): – Of course we are looking for good performances, say Matthias Vivang and Jasmine Boyer.

The online newspaper meets them at the “three for two” shelf at Mini’s in Tonsberg.

-We are managing things well, but we understand that many people are suffering. We keep an eye on it, and if we see there are good offers somewhere, we sometimes go on a shopping trip there, says Vifang.

Unloyal customers

More people are doing so, according to recent figures from analysis firm NielsenIQ.

There is a noticeable increase in the number of customers changing stores due to offers. As many as 41 percent in a new poll say they do. This is a clear increase from the previous year of 30 percent.

– It’s a big change. In the past, it was easy to influence people in the store, but they still went to the same store, says Anna Ekström, general manager of NielsenIQ Norden.

– Now it’s getting too bad for the economy for many, so you choose a store more based on the promotions they do, she says.

This development is fairly new in Norway.

– Denmark stands out as a place where people have long chosen to shop for good deals. In Norway and Sweden, customers changed shops less. That seems to be changing now, Ekstrom says.

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Lower bid campaigns

But even more people are looking for good deals, according to figures from NielsenIQ Fewer promotional campaigns In shops.

-We have seen that there are fewer campaigns, but more are being sold on campaigns now than before. This means that current campaigns are making people shop more often, she says.

– When there are fewer campaigns and people also have less money to spend, it is natural that the sales of each campaign increase as well.

Figures from Nielsen show that a large percentage of store sales occur specifically through campaign merchandise. In discount stores, it makes up 15.2 percent of sales volume, while in supermarkets it makes up to 27.5 percent. Meny and Coop Mega are examples of supermarkets.

Fewer items

Several Norwegian governments have worked to improve competition in the grocery market. The goal was to obtain lower prices and a better selection of products.

Now the exact opposite is happening. Everyone knows that food prices have risen, but also when it comes to the product range, things are going in the wrong direction. Admittedly, this represents a small percentage decrease. Discount stores such as Kiwi and Rema 1000 carry around 4,500 products.

Last year, the number of items shrank by 87 in discount stores, 229 in supermarkets and 49 in convenience stores.

Meny and Coop Mega are department stores, while Joker and Matkroken, for example, are convenience stores.

People are also looking forward to a greater extent of so-called , such as First Price, Xtra, and Prima. In lower-priced chains such as Qiwi, Rima, and Extra, the EMV share rose on average from 19.6 to 20.8 percent in the past year.

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Shops are nearby

Over several years, there has been a development where discount stores have captured an increasingly large portion of the market.

According to figures from NielsenIQ, discount stores had another hit last year.

Six supermarkets have closed in the past year. As many as 45 small shops were also forced to close. At the same time, 29 new discount stores were opened.

– Trends we’re seeing now with deal hunting, EMV, and people shopping more at discount stores. Is it temporary or will it continue?

– It’s hard to say. But if you look at the changes during the pandemic, for example, there is no turning back, she continues:

– I don’t think you want to come back. “If customers find EMV and are happy with it now, I think they will continue to buy it, even if they have better finances,” she says.