Dive Brief:

• Giant Eagle will resume sending a printed weekly circular to consumers in the Cleveland area starting this week, the supermarket chain announced in a Monday press release.
• The circular will feature a revised, two-page format that spotlights key promotions and will include a QR code to direct shoppers to hundreds of additional sale-priced items displayed on the grocer’s website.
• The shift comes as consumer interest in buying groceries digitally has slowed following the e-commerce surge sparked by the pandemic.

Dive Insight:

The announcement that Giant Eagle is adopting what is essentially a hybrid approach to notifying Cleveland customers of promotions comes several months after the supermarket chain reportedly stopped sending printing circulars to customers in the Midwestern city.

Giant Eagle did not provide specifics about why it elected to again send a paper version of its weekly flyer to shoppers in Cleveland.

​​​“We are committed to putting our customers at the center of everything we do to ensure we provide what is most important to them, and what they want most right now is high-quality products at a good price,” Brian Ferrier, senior vice president of merchandising for Giant Eagle, said in a statement.

The grocer also did not indicate if its decision would affect other markets where it operates, but local media reports in Pittsburgh, where Giant Eagle is based, said the chain plans to start distributing printed circulars to homes in that region in May. The retailer ceased sending paper circulars to households in Pittsburgh in March, according to a report by WTAE.

In that city, Giant Eagle is facing stiffer competition: Walmart recently surpassed Giant Eagle as the top grocer in Pittsburgh as measured by market share, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported this month. 

Data indicates that shoppers have been showing declining interest in purchasing groceries online as they continue to deal with inflation, suggesting printed circulars could resonate with shoppers looking to connect with supermarkets without having to head online. Consumer rights advocates have urged retailers to find ways other than digital channels to deliver promotions to the millions of people who do not have internet access or are not comfortable using online tools. 

Giant Eagle’s move back to printed circulars follows its appointment of a new CEO last month, when the retailer summarily ousted its longtime leader, Laura Shapira Karet, without saying why it had decided to part ways with the executive.