Out of Home Digital Market Food Promotions Research in Scotland report

This chapter explores the impact of promotions and other marketing strategies on decisions to order from OOH Digital Market. It addresses the following research objectives:

• To understand if, and why, promotions and other marketing strategies result in consumers ordering food more often from the OOH Digital Market.
• To understand whether different types of promotions/marketing strategies within the OOH Digital Market influence consumer behaviours in different ways.

The chapter draws on evidence collected from the Indeemo diary task (observed data on orders made during the fieldwork period) and the follow-up depth interviews with participants (qualitative data covering both specific orders and general ordering behaviours).

To aid understanding of potential impact, participants were asked in interviews whether they received email, text or push notifications from outlets. If participants said they did receive emails, texts or notifications, further details were gathered (including how often they recalled receiving them, what days of the week or times of day, from whom they received them, what 
they contained and how participants felt about receiving them). Findings are based on participants’ recollections and not on observations of Indeemo.

Participants reported receiving notifications, emails and texts from the OOH Digital Market with varying frequency. This ranged from multiple times a day to once a week or less. Although there was some sense that these communications came closer to the weekend, and on specific days such as Tuesdays or Thursdays (which may be associated with regular promotion that happen on those days), there was no clear pattern on the typical timing of these communications based on participants’ recollections when interviewed. Participants instead noted that they seemed to arrive randomly, or without a discernible pattern.

The primary focus of these communications was on promotions and other marketing strategies. Participants recalled receiving notifications about price promotions, including percentage discounts ranging from 25% to 50% off and multibuy offers, and, to a lesser extent, free delivery. Participants also reported receiving communications about non-price promotions, such as new outlet openings and new and seasonal menu items. Notifications and emails originated from various sources, with aggregator apps and chain outlets reported as being the most frequent senders.

Participants had also observed that their engagement with the food ordering platforms seemed to trigger the receipt of notifications and emails. For example, receiving more communications after logging into an app or placing an item in their basket without completing the order or receiving promotions tailored to their previous ordering history or location.

There were mixed feelings about receiving promotional emails and notifications. On the one hand, there were those who read most of the content they received and appreciated being informed about promotions and discounts that could save them money. As one participant noted:

On the other hand, there were participants who said that receiving notifications about promotions and other marketing strategies from the same outlet too often made them more likely to ignore them and less likely to be influenced to act on them. To reduce the number of messages they received, participants reported turning off notifications or unsubscribing from emails.

Regardless, communications appeared to be engaged with most when they came from participants’ favourite outlets or if the promotions they contained seemed particularly appealing.

When participants were asked about any other sources of advertising or promotional communication from the OOH sector, it became clear that direct digital marketing was by far the most prevalent source of information about promotions. Only a small number of participants could recall seeing relevant billboards, posters on bus stops and TV advertisements, or receiving promotional leaflets in the post. There was a general feeling that these marketing methods are unmemorable and ineffective.

The research has confirmed that participants were exposed to a range of promotions and other marketing strategies. This section goes on to explore whether these prompted unplanned takeaway orders. 

This section primarily focuses on those participants who noted their ordering being prompted by promotions during the Indeemo ordering period or more generally, detailing the circumstances around decisions to order and the types of promotions which prompted ordering. It then explores the reasons other participants gave as to why promotions and other marketing strategies did not influence their decision to order. 

As described in more detail in Chapter 4, 93 of the 106 orders (87%) recorded in Indeemo made use of a promotion or marketing strategy during the ordering process. Of the 93 orders making use of a promotion, 18 orders (made by 11 participants) were noted by participants as having been prompted by a promotion or marketing strategy (19%) (e.g. due to receiving an email/notification or seeing a promotion).

Of these 18 orders, 14 were discussed with participants in the follow-up interviews. This further exploration, where participants were asked to discuss the circumstances that led to their decision to order, provided additional evidence suggesting that the direct effect of promotions or marketing strategies on decisions to order is minimal. The prompt of the promotion appeared to be only one factor in the decision to order, and generally not the deciding factor. Indeed, while all 14 orders discussed were noted in Indeemo as having been prompted by a promotion, when recounting these orders during the interview, participants actually recalled the promotion being one of the reasons behind the decision to order in only two of the 14 cases. In these two cases, and in the remaining 12 cases, other reasons for ordering held more weight - having had a busy day, being too tired to cook, wanting a treat or having friends or family visiting. The promotion was typically the factor that cemented the decision to order rather than prompting ordering where there had been no prior consideration to doing so. Specific examples included participants weighing up the financial considerations of getting a takeaway and discounts making the order feel more affordable or “worthwhile”, helping to overcome any hesitation or guilt they had around their decision to order.

Alex is a young student living in Edinburgh in a flat with four other students. She has a busy schedule and, in addition to her studies, works part-time in an office and nights in a bar. She tries to stay organised with food shopping by doing one big weekly shop and picking up small things from the supermarket throughout the week. Being a student, Alex is very conscious of finances when buying food – she tries to stick to a weekly budget and always has lower-price food items, like pasta and rice, on hand. 

When she is craving a treat, or does not feel like cooking, Alex might order a takeaway. This is usually around once a week, on a weekend or after a night out. She frequently receives push notifications from aggregator food delivery apps and tends to compare promotions offered across platforms for the best value for money. The availability of promotions can influence her decision to order – if she is hesitating, an appealing offer would prompt her towards ordering or, if she’s aware of a time-limited promotion, she would plan to order to take advantage of the offer before it expires. 

"It definitely encouraged me more, because I know that I'm not going to be like that out of pocket about it. I had, kind of, already decided that I was going to use the offer at some point before it expired. I just ended up using it on Saturday." 

“If I have decided I'm going to have a takeaway, I will have a takeaway. But then, if it is just like, ‘oh, I'm tired and I don't really want to cook’, I might have a look on my phone, and then if there is an offer, I will have a takeaway, and if there is not, I force myself to the shop. They [the cost of takeaways] do rack up.”

When choosing where to order from, Alex tends to go for the places she has tried and enjoyed before but always checks if the outlet is offering discounts at the time of ordering. When browsing the menu, she relies on her knowledge of the food she has had before, as well as available promotions – meal deals and trying to reach the minimum spend for a discount can 
sometimes prompt her to order more food than planned or larger-sized items. 

“I think being asked if you want a larger size, like, upgrade for only £2.00 or something then I would probably go for that kind of thing. The free items as well, if it is like, well if you spend 15, you will get a free item, I'm more likely to add enough to spend 15, even though it is not that difficult, to be honest [to spend £15]. I guess with the additional items it, kind of, depends, like, I have done that on [chain outlet] before they are doing a garlic bread for half price or something, so I will get that.” 

The decision journey for Alex is summarised in Figure 3.1. 

There were also instances of participants reporting using the availability of a promotion to help convince others to get a takeaway.

Therefore, while the Indeemo data suggests that around a fifth of orders were prompted by receipt or sight of a promotion or marketing strategy, the follow-up qualitative interviews revealed that this was typically in situations where participants were already considering ordering, with other factors being cited are more influential in the decision. As it seemed likely that most of these orders would have happened without the prompt, the direct impact of promotions and other marketing strategies on the frequency of ordering appears limited. 

During follow up depth interviews, participants were asked questions about their wider online ordering behaviour to explore the general impact of promotions and other marketing strategies on their decisions to order from the OOH Digital Market out with the fieldwork period. Overall, the findings were in line with those relating to the specific orders recorded on Indeemo, supporting the finding that the direct effect of receipt/sight of promotions and other marketing strategies on the frequency of ordering is limited. Instead, promotions and other marketing strategies were again described as one element of decisions that are primarily driven by other factors (e.g., being too busy or tired, not having enough time to cook or shop, wanting a treat and having friends and family visiting). Rather than being the reason for ordering, they were considered a ‘nice perk’ (particularly price promotions).

The impact of the timing of emails and notifications was also acknowledged, with participants noting that, receiving one at the time of the week they would usually order, could tip the balance in cases where they were undecided. 

While not the dominant view, there were participants who recounted some occasions where receiving an email or notification had triggered them to order when they hadn’t previously been considering it. In these cases, participants described how receiving a notification from an app/website had ‘planted the seed’ to order a takeaway which led to them ordering later in the day/week or from a different outlet to where the alert originated. This happened when the specific promotion did not appeal to what they wanted but made them think that they would like to order a takeaway. Aggregator apps, in particular, can facilitate this by offering a variety of promotions on different outlets, allowing allows consumers to still receive an alternative discount. These cases illustrate that the content of the notification may not be as influential on the decision to order as the cue it provides to open a food ordering app.

Although an exceptional perspective, one participant described their ordering behaviour as being highly driven by promotions and other marketing strategies. They reported deliberately ordering from specific outlets to collect loyalty points and using surplus food marketplace app services to receive free or highly discounted food from outlets. The participant described the motivation behind their orders being linked to a feeling of ‘excitement’ at getting food for a heavily discounted price or for free and felt this led to them ordering more frequently than they otherwise would. The feeling of excitement is further amplified by certain types of promotions and other marketing strategies that introduce an element of gamification and surprise.

Variation by platform/outlet type

Among orders that were reported to have been prompted by promotions and other marketing strategies, there was variation by outlet type, with ordering more likely to be prompted by aggregator apps and chain outlets. This ties in with the previous discussion that these types of outlet are the main senders of promotions and marketing communications. Of the 18 cases where participants noted in Indeemo that their order had been prompted by a promotion or marketing strategy, 11 had received notice of it via an aggregator app and seven via a chain outlet. Furthermore, when asked in the general discussion about outlet and platform preferences, the variety and frequency of promotions was cited as a key reason for use of aggregator apps and certain chain outlets, supporting that they are the platforms most likely to influence ordering. 

Variation by type of promotion or marketing strategy 

Among the 14 orders marked in Indeemo as having been prompted by promotions, and discussed in the follow up interviews, there was variation by type of promotion. Price promotions were most common, prompting 11 out of the 14 orders. These included discount with a minimum spend promotions, general discounts without minimum spend (on the whole order or an item) and multi-buy offers. The level of discount varied, but was no less than 20% in all cases. Qualitative data confirmed the influence of price promotions on decisions to order, with minimum spend discounts being considered most appealing. Non-price promotions were less prominent, prompting two of the 14 orders. The qualitative data illustrated that advertising of new items offered by outlets could trigger a craving and prompt takeaway orders from those outlets.

Beyond the type of promotion, the expiry date of the deal had an influence on participants’ decision to order a takeaway. In six out of the 14 orders that were prompted by a promotion and discussed in follow up interviews, the promotion was time limited. These types of promotions were primarily price promotions that were valid for a day or over a limited period of time or multiple orders. Qualitative interviews revealed that short-term limited time price promotions - including one-off discounts or regular promotions that are valid only on a specific day of the week - tended to prompt ordering on the same day, with some participants reporting feeling a sense of urgency to use the promotion knowing it was about to expire.

In relation to price promotions over a limited period of time or number of orders (e.g. £x off every order for a month; £x off for the next five orders), participants reported ordering more often within the timeframe of the promotion period to maximise the promotion. Some also mentioned that the knowledge that the promotion is there and “has an expiry date” put the idea of takeaways at the back of their mind, which resulted in ordering, if not immediately after seeing the promotion, then later in the week or month.

One order among those recorded on Indeemo was prompted by a loyalty scheme (e.g. point accumulation deals where you get a free item or a discount after a certain number of orders). Qualitative evidence also suggests that loyalty and rewards schemes can have an effect on ordering behaviour, with participants stating they are sometimes tempted to order more frequently to accumulate loyalty points and receive a discount after a certain number of orders. Participants also said that they found this type of promotion particularly appealing because it makes them more loyal to places that they already enjoy ordering from. 

The impact of cheap or free delivery was also explored. While most participants welcomed this, and felt positively about outlets offering it, there was also a sense that it is rarely a significant factor in the ordering process, with some suggestion that the convenience of getting food delivered makes the costs associated with it justified.

There were, however, participants who thought that free delivery being offered more widely could encourage them to order takeaway more often. Others suggested that, while it would be unlikely to result in more frequent ordering, it would push them to expand the range of outlets from which they ordered beyond those that are located near to their home. There was more of a consensus when participants were asked if their ordering behaviour would change in response to higher delivery fees. Participants generally agreed that this would make them less impulsive in their ordering decisions and, most likely, lead to less frequent ordering.

Although promotions and other marketing strategies were not generally reported by participants to have influenced the decision to order, it is possible that they had a less direct, or subliminal, impact on the frequency of consumer takeaway ordering. It was beyond the scope of the research to measure this, however analysis of the qualitative data suggests that the ubiquitous nature of advertising and communication of promotions may subconsciously affect consumers’ decision making. For example, one participant suggested that the wide availability and range of promotions from takeaway outlets is influential on a subliminal level, resulting in them thinking about ordering more frequently, while being unable to pinpoint the immediate effect of a promotion on their decision making. 

While the study cannot measure the impact of general marketing and communication in the OOH Digital Market on order frequency, there is some suggestion that it may lead to more frequent ordering. Participants often mentioned being aware of regular promotions from certain apps or outlets before ordering, and planning to make use of these. Moreover, participants mentioned the variety and frequency of promotions as reasons for using aggregator apps and certain chain outlets. The knowledge that the promotions are ‘always there’ makes them choose these outlets/platforms over others. These findings, taken alongside the evidence on the role of financial considerations in decisions around frequency of takeaway ordering (Chapter 2), suggest that some consumers, particularly those for whom financial considerations are greatest, may not order as frequently as they currently do if there were fewer price promotions.