Auchan offers an interesting case.
At the end of 2024, the French retailer made a strategic choice: reduce promotional intensity and invest more heavily in everyday shelf prices.
The logic made sense.
Improve price competitiveness.
Strengthen long-term price perception.
Rely less heavily on promotions.
And Auchan acted decisively.
In Q1 2025, its promotional pressure fell by 23%, compared with a 7% decline across the market.
But there's a problem with changing price perception:
It takes time.
Promotions, on the other hand, can influence traffic and purchasing behaviour almost immediately.
Fast-forward to 2026 and Auchan has changed gear again.
By Q1, its promotional activity was back in line with the market.
By Q2, according to PROMOFLASH data reported by Olivier Dauvers, Auchan was once again clearly over-investing in promotions versus competitors.
It's a fascinating illustration of one of retail's perennial tensions:
Do you invest in the price customers remember, or the offer that gets them through the door today?
Perhaps the answer isn't one or the other.
Retailers need a credible everyday price proposition.
But promotions also create urgency, give shoppers reasons to visit and provide highly visible evidence of value.
And that makes the way those promotions are communicated increasingly important.
Because a great offer has very little commercial value if the shopper never knows it exists.
In today's intensely competitive grocery market, winning on value may require retailers to do both:
Build price perception for tomorrow while communicating compelling reasons to shop today.
How do you think retailers should balance everyday price and promotional intensity?