Print flyers continue to be advertising staple

The much-maligned flyer remains a key part of the marketing arsenal, according to a new study from BrandSpark International.

The study found approximately 97% of Ontarians have read a print flyer in the past month, with 73% of respondents indicating they use flyers to discover new products.

The study is based on interviews with 1,814 retail shoppers in Ontario from June 17 to 27, and is considered accurate within plus or minus 2.3% 19 times out of 20.

It was commissioned by Metroland Media, a Torstarsubsidiary that distributes approximately 2.2 billion flyers a year, largely through its network of 114 community newspapers.

While marketers are feeling pressure to move to digital ads and online flyers, the study found consumers continue to look to print for information, with 50% of respondents saying they would be disappointed if a retailer decided to eliminate print flyers.

Only 8% of respondents said the elimination of print flyers would be “no problem,” while 9% said they would get their information online and 22% said they would shop elsewhere.

Flyer use varies significantly by category, with 94% of grocery shoppers and 88% of mass merchant consumers indicating that they have read a print flyer in the past month, compared with 64% of department store shoppers and 61% of electronics shoppers.

Nearly three quarters (71%) of respondents said they are more likely to visit a retailer who sends a flyer, while 43% indicated that they found a gift idea for somebody else as a result of a flyer.

The study found print flyers are a leading source for identifying sales, maximizing value and finding new products, with consumers 3.3 times more likely to use a flyer than a store website to find deals, twice as likely to use flyers to compare price and value options, and 1.6 times more to research the range of available products.

This article appeared in Marketing Magazine