California’s Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors has voted to prevent restaurants from supplying toys and other promotions with high-calorie children’s meals. The ordinance bans the inclusion of any toy in a children’s meal with over 485 calories or 600mg of salt.  No single item can contain over 200 calories, and the drink is limited to 120 calories.  No more than 35% of the meal’s calories can come from fat, and no more than 10% from added sugar. The strict criteria... ...Read more »

The UK’s largest retailer has launched the first of its new “Buy One, Get One Free Later” deals, designed in response to alarming research showing the high levels of food waste. Such is the extent of food waste in the UK that the government is looking at the prospect of clamping down on traditional ‘buy-one-get-one-free’ (BOGOF) deals. This has already elicited a response from retailers, with Tesco’s new discount strategy to include the ability for customers to... ...Read more »

In the wake of concerns about the waste created by ‘buy-one-get-one-free’ offers (BOGOFs), UK retailer Sainsbury’s has introduced a new, but similar offer, to tackle such concerns. The ‘buy now free next time’ deal allows customers to get the product free next time they are in store and it will be initially offered on nappies and baguettes. “Following feedback from our customers, we learnt that whilst ‘buy one get one free’ promotional offers on nappies... ...Read more »

Tesco has launched a different kind of bogof promotion in its latest bid to help UK consumers lower their carbon footprint. The UK’s largest retailer said that shoppers would see “Buy One Get One Free – Later” offers in its stores. The promotion is designed to allow consumers to pick up their free product “when they need it” and help keep waste down, Tesco claimed. The offer was unveiled as Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy said the retailer would look to reduce... ...Read more »

Coles has withdrawn a petrol price promotion at the request of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The supermarket chain was to reward heavy spenders at their supermarkets with a substantial discount at the bowser in a move similar to a recent successful promotion, but cancelled the deal after the competition regulator raised concerns. The two-week deal was set to provide discounts of up to 40c/litre but the ACCC said it could prove anti-competitive in the long-term. Coles Express... ...Read more »

The CEO of Safeway, one of America’s largest supermarket chains, has recommended all supermarket operators focus on ‘everyday low prices’ rather than promotions in order to lure the budget consumer. During last week’s quarterly conference call with investors, Chairman, President and CEO of the retailer, Steve Burd, suggested that loyalty amongst the budget consumer could no longer be driven by heavy promotions as they were channel surfing more often and showed a greater preparedness... ...Read more »

Coles has continued with their aggressive discounting plan, offering a 10 per cent rollback to seniors this week. The supermarket chain last week instigated a brief petrol price battle with a 40 cents per litre discount for those who spent more than $300 on groceries, with Woolworths immediately following suit. Woolworths will not match the deal, due to end tomorrow, on this occasion. Coles spokesman Jim Cooper said the move was made as many Pensioners missed out last week because their shopping... ...Read more »

A new study from New Zealand has indicated that supermarket chains are much more likely to discounts unhealthy drinks than healthier alternatives. The research, published in Nutrition & Dietetics by Wiley-Blackwell, covered 1,500 discounts over a month in four supermarkets in the New Zealand city of Wellington, with just 15 per cent related to the promotion of healthy non-alcoholic beverages. Author Louise Signal, from the University of Otago, believes some, but not all, of the difference can... ...Read more »

Asda, the UK’s second largest supermarket chain, reported its twelfth successive quarter of market out-performance with underlying sales rising by 8.4% last week as they enhanced their innovation on the back of new programs to engage consumers. The company attributed the results to a heightened focus on value – assisted by thousands of ‘rollbacks’ and improved private label quality as well as new innovations derived from customer insights. Asda announced that more than £60m... ...Read more »

Permission-based email makes shoppers more likely to do business with a retailer, in addition to generating a more favourable opinion of the retailer and even a stronger sense of loyalty to the retailer’s brand in around 50 per cent of cases, according to the latest research from American-based Epsilon. “While email marketing programs have become standard in the retail industry, measuring the impact of email communications on offline sales and the lasting impressions of brands is not... ...Read more »