Low prices taken for granted

The Austrian market leader, Baumax, has consolidated its prompted recognition level and reached a figure of 98 per cent in the latest survey carried out by the Markant management consultancy. Obi has also continued to improve, achieving a figure above the 90 per cent mark. The market researchers pinpointed cost effectiveness as still the most important criterion underlying customers’ choice of DIY store. However, their information shows that quality, choice and location have acquired greater significance in comparison with the previous year. Low prices, which were formerly the main criterion, are no longer mentioned as an essential factor because customers now take them for granted. The survey also looked into the impact of special offers and mail advertising. This reveals that more than half of all Austrians plan their purchase of DIY articles as the result of mailed advertising material. Special offers in the stores have an even greater impact: more than 60 per cent of respondents said that they had made impulse purchases as the result of such measures.