Can new mover mail replace a weekly coupon bundle?

For Kabat’s it did. Instead of sending discounts to the same current customers every week, every piece went to someone new in town who hadn’t picked a hardware store yet.

Should a hardware store mail outside its own zip codes?

It can pay off. Kabat’s home zips responded at 9.5%, and adding nearby zips where growth is strong and competition is weak still averaged 6.96% across the whole campaign.

How much do new customers spend on their first visit?

At Kabat’s, new customers spent an average of $27.27 more than their $10 gift certificate, and some spent a whole lot more. That covered the cost of the mailing on first visits alone.

CASE STUDY · GROCERY · NATIONWIDE

Grocery Store Results

Most grocery stores see 8 to 12% response with new mover mail

Grocery stores across the country mail new neighbors a $10 welcome gift certificate. These five results come from Our Town America response reports, with typical stores and standouts side by side.

Book a Call

See How It Works

Sample Piggly Wiggly $10 free groceries new mover welcome gift certificate

5

STORES

9,191

NEW CUSTOMERS

8-12%

TYPICAL RESPONSE

22.2%

TOP RESPONSE

Idaho, Michigan, Illinois, North Carolina and Nebraska · 5 grocery stores · New mover welcome gift certificate

Most stores land at 8 to 12% response.

A response means a new neighbor brought the $10 gift certificate to the register. Most grocery stores land between 8 and 12%, and some do much better. Here are three typical results and two standouts.

Typical Results

Hollywood Market, Rochester, MI: 4,534 new customers from 46,193 mailed, 9.8% (2013 to 2018)
Hy-Vee, Quincy, IL: 615 new customers from 6,346 mailed, 9.7% (2016 to 2018)
Carlie C’s, Angier, Benson and Lillington, NC: 922 new customers from 7,245 mailed, 12.7% (2017 to 2019)

Standout Results

Ridley’s Family Markets, Kuna, ID: 1,388 new customers from 9,237 mailed, 15.0% (August 2019 to March 2024)

Russ’s Market, Hastings, NE: 1,732 new customers from 7,810 mailed, 22.2% (September 2019 to February 2025)

The Results

Together, these five stores mailed 76,831 welcome gift certificates, and 9,191 new households came in to redeem them. That’s about 12% combined.

Every one of them is a new neighbor who tried the store in their first weeks in town. Results vary by market, offer and how long a store mails, so we’ll look at your area before we talk numbers.