Lidl cuts out checkout confectionery in UK stores
Lidl Ireland 'working closely with UK colleagues' to gather information about confectionery trial before deciding whether or not to implement the move here
Print20 January 2014
Lidl has banned sweets and chocolate bars at the checkouts of all 600 of its UK stores.Traditional confectionery choices have now been replaced with dried and fresh fruit, oatcakes and juices, following a trial of these healthier options at tills last year.The move was made in a bid to stop parents encountering ‘pester power’ from their kids.
Lidl customer research showed that seven out of 10 customers would choose a sweet-free checkout. In a survey for the supermarket, 68% of parents said they were pestered by their children for chocolate at the checkout, and 66% gave in some or all of the time.
The discounter claims it is the first UK supermarket to have removed sweets from all its checkouts. While Tesco and Sainsbury’s have removed sweets from counters at their larger outlets, they continue to be sold at the checkouts in convenience stores.
Ronny Gottschlich, managing director, Lidl UK, said: "We know how difficult it can be to say no to pester power, so by removing sweets and chocolates from our tills we can make it easier for parents to reward children in healthier ways."
The move has been welcomed by UK health groups such as Action on Sugar.
When asked if Lidl’s Irish operations planned to adopt the move here, a spokesperson said: "At the moment we are working closely with our UK colleagues to gather as much information and knowledge about their trial before making a decision about whether to implement this initiative in our Irish stores. As it’s such early days in the UK, we anticipate it will be another couple of weeks before we reach a decision on this.
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