Newsagents seize opportunity as Waitrose scraps free newspaper offer
Independent retailers should seize the sales opportunities offered by Waitrose’s decision to scrap its free newspaper offer for its loyalty card customers, the NFRN has said.
The supermarket emailed 8.5 million myWaitrose card holders to advise that from February 22, they could no longer receive a free newspaper when spending £10 or more. Waitrose said it would replace the current deal with more personalised offers, which would change each week.
The change caused outrage among some of the the supermarket’s shoppers, coming just under a year after the retailer stopped offering free coffees to MyWaitrose members in stores. The retailer said the coffee deal was paused during the pandemic but did not give a date when it may return.
Reacting to the news, NFRN National President Narinder Randhawa said: “The free newspaper offer has long been a bone of contention with independent news retailers, as it has cannibalised sales.
“The announcement that Waitrose’s is scrapping its free newspapers later this month should provide retailers in the vicinity of its stores an excellent opportunity to pick up more casual sales. We will be encouraging members in those areas to ensure their newspapers are prominently displayed at point of sale and, if possible, on their shop counters too.”
Mr Randhawa added: “The NFRN’s news department will also be working with news wholesalers to ensure that members have extra copies to enable them to capitalise on this exciting opportunity.”
