Retail promotional communication: the comparative effectiveness of print versus online

New promotional tools such as digital reward platforms, virtual loyalty currencies, and digital wallets are being introduced and some are being adopted quickly by consumers. These tools are increasingly accessed via mobile devices: for example, digital wallets developed in the form of apps. Despite the market increase in the popularity of new digital channels for purchasing and for information and promotion search, there is a scarcity of studies on the comparison between customer response to traditional (i.e. offline) channels versus new digital channels in the context of retail promotional communication. This chapter compares print versus online retail promotional communication; provides an overview of flyer evolution from print to digital thanks to customer insight and “flyer aggregators”; and discusses a field experiment implemented with the cooperation of an Italian retail chain aiming to measure the effectiveness of print versus online store flyers. Findings indicate that 80% of customers respond equally to print versus online, while 20% of the customers display a higher response to print.