Every grocery store knows the routine: design a weekly flyer, print thousands of copies, distribute them through mail or in-store racks, and hope enough people actually read them to justify the cost.
But what if you could deliver the same weekly deals directly to your customers' phones — for free — and know exactly who received them?
The Problem with Paper Flyers
Paper flyers have been a grocery staple for decades. But the economics are getting harder to justify:
Printing costs add up. Depending on volume and quality, printing weekly flyers can cost thousands per month. That's money spent before a single customer sees a deal.
Distribution is unreliable. Direct mail gets mixed in with junk mail. In-store racks depend on customers picking one up. Many flyers end up in recycling bins unread.
You can't measure results. How many people actually read your flyer? Which deals drove store visits? You have no idea. You're spending money on marketing you can't track.
Declining readership. Younger shoppers don't read paper flyers. Even older demographics are increasingly digital-first. The audience for paper is shrinking every year.
How Facebook Notifications Work as a Flyer Replacement
Here's the alternative: customers subscribe to your store's deals through Facebook Messenger or Instagram. When you post your weekly offers, subscribers receive a notification directly in their inbox — the same place they chat with friends and family.
The process is simple:
- Customers opt in by interacting with your store's Facebook page (typically through a comment selling campaign or a subscribe prompt)
- Each week, you send your deals to all subscribers with one click using the Notification Robot
- Subscribers see your deals in their Messenger or Instagram inbox and come to your store
No printing. No postage. No hoping they'll open the mailbox.
Paper Flyers vs Digital Notifications
| | Paper Flyers | Facebook Notifications |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per send | $0.10-0.50 per household | Free |
| Delivery speed | 2-5 days (print + mail) | Instant |
| Reach | Unknown — you hope they read it | Direct — delivered to their inbox |
| Measurability | None | Open rates, clicks, responses |
| Targeting | Everyone in a ZIP code | Only people who opted in (higher intent) |
| Environmental impact | Paper, ink, transportation | None |
| Frequency | Weekly (limited by cost) | As often as you want |
The difference in targeting is especially important. Paper flyers go to every household in a delivery zone — including people who never shop at your store. Digital notifications go only to people who explicitly asked to receive your deals. Every recipient is a real customer or someone actively interested in your store.
Real Results
Stores using Commentsell in Sweden have built subscriber bases that collectively reach 234,000 people — 2.3% of Sweden's entire population. These aren't passive followers who might see a post in their feed. These are subscribers who get your deals delivered directly to their inbox every week.
Some individual stores have built subscriber bases of several thousand. When those stores send their weekly deals, they know exactly how many people received the message, how many opened it, and how many acted on it. That level of measurement is impossible with paper.
The subscriber model also compounds over time. Every comment selling campaign is a subscriber acquisition opportunity. A customer who reserves a deal today can become a subscriber who sees every future offer. The more deals you run, the larger your subscriber base grows — and the more effective each future notification becomes.
Making the Switch
You don't have to abandon paper flyers overnight. Many stores start by running both in parallel: paper flyers for broad awareness, digital notifications for their growing subscriber base. Over time, as the subscriber base grows and the results become clear, the balance naturally shifts toward digital.
The key is getting started. Every comment selling campaign you run, every competition you hold, every interaction on your Facebook page is a chance to convert a casual visitor into a subscriber.
Learn more about the Notification Robot or schedule a demo to see how it works.