ALDI SÜD’s Folder Freeze: what happens when you stop door-to-door?
As retailers across Europe reconsider their reliance on printed folders, the industry is watching closely to see what happens when door-to-door distribution is paused—or stopped entirely.
In recent months, several major players have made bold moves:
- Lidl Belgium and Praxis Nederland stopped their printed folders
- Fressnapf announced it would restart its distribution
- ALDI SÜD tested the impact by switching off its folder distribution in one specific German region
- ALDI Belgium continues to believe strongly in printed communication, citing its importance to price-conscious consumers and its strategic role in the marketing mix
But the big question remains: what happens when you stop distributing the folder?
While cost and sustainability arguments often dominate these decisions, few retailers know the actual business impact on visitor behaviour, loyalty, or competitive shifts. A recent article from RetailTrends quotes Jonne Guyt, Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Amsterdam:
“Retailers often don’t know what the effects of their folder distribution are.”
In light of recent shifts in the retail landscape, with several major players rethinking their door-to-door strategies, we revisited an earlier analysis from 2024. In this study, Accurat examined the case of ALDI SÜD, which paused its folder distribution in the Frankfurt–Butzbach region. We compared visitor behaviour after the stop (September–November 2024) with the months leading up to the change (March–July 2024) to assess the real-world impact on store performance.
With CampaignCompass, we translated these regional trends into measurable insights—highlighting what retailers stand to lose or gain when changing course on door-to-door communication.
The setup: ALDI SÜD switches off folders in Frankfurt–Butzbach
In the second half of 2024, it was estimated that ALDI SÜD had stopped its weekly door-to-door folder distribution in the Frankfurt–Butzbach region. In other southern German regions, its folder distribution continued as usual.
This presented a valuable test-case to compare results between:
- Folder regions (control)
- No-folder region (test)
Using Accurat’s GDPR-compliant behavioural data, we analysed the effect of this change on visit share, customer loyalty, visit frequency, and competitive dynamics.
1. A 13% visit share loss in test regions
The first and most immediate effect of stopping the folder was a clear drop in store visits:
- In the no-folder region, ALDI SÜD’s visit share declined by 13%
- In regions where folders were still distributed, the drop was just 2%
The 10-point drop in visit share clearly shows that stopping Aldi Süd’s weekly printed folder had a noticeable impact on customer visits in the test region
2. Competitors gain: REWE and Penny lead the way
Where did ALDI SÜD’s visitors go?
After ALDI SÜD stopped its folder distribution in the Frankfurt–Butzbach region, REWE saw the biggest absolute gain in visit share. But when we account for store count, Penny proves just as effective at attracting new shoppers—showing comparable relative growth despite having fewer locations.
Lidl also gained ground, though part of its existing customer base shifted towards Edeka, indicating a broader reshuffling within the competitive landscape.
This reveals an important truth: printed folders aren’t just about retaining your own customers—they’re a strategic lever to prevent shopper drift and protect market share against competitors.
Normalized visit transfer: Similar to share of visits, but taking into account the active number of stores a brand has during the selected period. It is calculated by weighing each player’s share of visits based on the number of active stores which allows for a more fair comparison of the market.
3. Loyal shoppers dropped by 29%
ALDI SUD’s loyal customer base fell sharply in the no-folder region. We define our loyalty types as following:
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% of primary loyals: the % of visitors that dedicated 50% or more of their total supermarket visits to the designated brand (based on the selected period).
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% of secondary loyals: the % of visitors that dedicated between 25-49% of their total supermarket visits to the designated brand (based on the selected period).
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% of occasional loyals: the % of visitors that dedicated less than 25% of their total supermarket visits to the designated brand (based on the selected period).
We conclude a -29% drop in the share of primary and secondary loyals (vs. -6% in folder regions). This suggests that the folder plays a role not only in attracting shoppers but in reminding and retaining existing customers—especially those who typically return week after week.
4. Visit frequency fell by more than 20%
The number of visits per shopper (frequency) also declined significantly. We noticed a decline of more than 20% in no-folder areas, whereas the number of visits per shopper remained stable where folders continued.
These changes in visit rhythm may seem small on a weekly basis, but across a year and customer base, they can represent a major difference in store performance and spend per household.
Insights in Context
Besides winning customers, this case study confirms that door-to-door distribution still has measurable value, especially in:
- Retaining loyal customers
- Stimulating repeat visits
- Defending against competitive switching
With so many retailers currently debating whether to scale back or reinvent their folder strategies, having real behavioural insights is more important than ever.
Read how we do it 👉: https://accurat.ai/blog/how-to-measure-door-to-door-impact
In today’s fast-changing retail world, classic market research simply can’t keep up. At Accurat, we believe smarter decisions come from real-world behavior, real-time insights, and granular analysis—not outdated surveys or slow-moving panels.