Canadian Consumers Still Rely Heavily (97%) on Paper Fliers for Retail

A recent survey commissioned by Metroland Media suggests that a significant majority of Ontario, Canada, consumers (97% of those surveyed) continue to rely on flyers for making purchasing decisions. The study, produced by BrandSpark International, also indicated that despite many marketers feeling pressure to move to digital advertising and online flyer options, many consumers still look to print for information about shopping, even among younger demographics.

The consumers who participated in the online survey read grocery, mass merchant, and drug store flyers on a regular basis said that they consider print flyers more valuable than online or email by a significant margin.

"Despite the trend toward online forms of advertising and marketing to consumers, we heard directly from Ontario consumers that they rely on print flyers more than any other medium when looking for deals, gift ideas, and making a purchase," said Ian Oliver, president of Metroland Media. "The value in print flyer advertising is real and the research indicates that many consumers view print flyers as indispensable."

97% read flyers (only 3% report "never" reading flyers)
94% of grocery consumers and 88% of mass merchant consumers read flyers
73% of consumers use flyers to learn about new products
Consumers spend more time reading print flyers compared with online and email flyers
Maximizing value and understanding product landscape.

Print flyers remain strong as a source for identifying sales, maximizing value, and finding new products. For example, survey results suggest that consumers look to print flyer advertising significantly more than store websites to research information, including what deals are happening (3.3 times more), comparing price and value options (twice as much), researching the range of products available (1.6 times more), and researching which stores carry a product (1.6 times more).

Consumers surveyed told Metroland that flyers allow them to discover new products. Some 71% of consumers surveyed say they are more likely to visit a retailer that sends them flyers. Additionally, 72% say that flyers impact their purchase decisions, and more than half say that flyers are a valuable part of their life. More than half (51%) have visited a store's website after reading a flyer.

BrandSpark surveyed 1,814 retail shoppers living in Ontario between June 17 and June 27, 2014. Calculated scores have a margin of error of ±2.3%, 9 times out of 20.