Many Customers See the Discontinuation of Print Advertising in a Negative Light

Retailers that forego print advertisement risk seeing a drop in sales. This is the takeaway from a recent survey by IFH Köln retail research institute in Cologne. What it also revealed: The number of Germans surveyed who read print brochures at least occasionally increased in the last three years from 92 to 95 percent.
 
In 2022, as home improvement center chain Obi announced they would discontinue their advertising brochures, this raised a few eyebrows in the graphic industry. And as supermarket chain Rewe followed suit one year later, this sent even more waves of worry through the print industry. What the two large retailers may not have expected: Many customers see the discontinuation of print advertising in a negative light.
 
After all, according to the latest brochure monitor from IFH MEDIA ANALYTICS, which analyzes the reception of brochures and based on a representative survey of 1,000 people from various household sizes and income levels in Germany carried out last February, 52 percent of people who used to regularly read brochures miss print advertising. Only one-fourth consider the elimination of print ads to be a positive development.
 
95 percent read print brochures at least occasionally
62 percent find that they now receive less information from the respective providers, and in some cases they now purchase less from them (45 percent). Nearly half are now reading more brochures from other providers. 45 percent tend to reject alternative digital channels because they find them too complicated to use. It’s no surprise that other retailers that followed OBI and Rewe are discussing reintroducing print advertising.
 
The significance of print brochures – which 87 percent perceive as more slow-paced and relaxed according to the survey – is made clear by one figure from the latest brochure monitor: 95 percent of Germans surveyed (3 percent more compared with three years ago!) read print brochures at least occasionally, while 78 percent (2 percent more than in 2022) do so weekly. The intensive use of online brochures is increasing, with 66 percent using them weekly, thanks to the growing prevalence of apps. “But the maximum group of users is stagnating, as the number of occasional users remains the same at quite a high level (2025: 86 percent/2024: 87 percent),” writes IFH MEDIA ANALYTICS in a press release.
 
Scoring deals, saving money, planning the weekly grocery shopping
And why do consumers read brochures? Primarily to find deals (print: 64 percent/online: 52 percent) and to cut costs while shopping (print: 56 percent/online: 51 percent). Nearly every second German (47 percent) also uses print ads to plan their weekly grocery shopping trip – a sharp increase compared with 2016 (26 percent). Online brochures play a significantly less important role in this area, coming in at 36 percent.
 
It’s no wonder that around half of consumers indicate that they are personally affected by the discontinuation of print brochures. According to the latest brochure monitor, this is one reason that print brochures are making a comeback, reflecting current market dynamics. Nearly a third of consumers have already experienced the return of a brochure that was once discontinued. 63 percent of them see this revival as a good thing. And for nearly half (47 percent), this has made it easier to find good deals.
 
Hybrid use the prevalent model
“The results clearly show that, despite all the digital euphoria, print brochures remain a fixed part of the everyday life of consumers. Their enormous reach ensures that they can be found in virtually every household,” says Andreas Riekötter, Managing Director of IFH MEDIA ANALYTICS. “We are also seeing that provider apps, which are recording the greatest growth among online media, do not replace brochures. Most users use both channels, and this hybrid approach will remain the prevalent model for promotional communication in the future as well.”