Lidl sold 40,000 lobsters in a single day after a canny social media promotion in which the more people tweeted about the product, the more the price dropped.
The German discounter sold about 200,000 lobsters over the Christmas period as a whole but generated a big rise in sales on 26 November, the day after Black Friday.
Sales soared as it cut the price from £5.99 to £2.99 in response to 2,000 people tweeting about its lobster, which has become a mainstay of discounters’ efforts to tempt in middle-class shoppers at Christmas. Lidl also reduced the price of mini stollen, Serrano ham and silver-topped Christmas puddings as part of the social media campaign.
Thanks to your tweets, for ONE DAY ONLY we’ll be dropping the price of our Deluxe lobsters to just £2.99. In store all day Saturday. pic.twitter.com/jykzVvCvNW
— Lidl UK (@LidlUK) November 23, 2016
Lidl’s sales rose 10% in December, against the same month last year, as it opened new stores and attracted shoppers with its mix of bargain prices and luxury foods. The strong performance helped Lidl lift its market share to 4.4% in the three months to 1 January, up from 4.2% the year before, according to data from market researcher Kantar Worldpanel.
Bruno Monteyne, an analyst at Bernstein Research, said sales at established stores were likely to have risen by 5%. He said it was likely to have been boosted by up to 3% by the benefit of an additional Saturday of trading in December and the timing of Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, which made it easier for customers to do their big shop at the weekend.
Today’s tongue twister: Lidl Lobster, Lidl Lobster, Lidl Lobster. Your turn! @LidlUK #LidlSurprises #ad pic.twitter.com/Sr6KPY6UD9
— Denise Van Outen (@denise_vanouten) November 22, 2016
