Lidl launches two nationwide innovations. In Ireland, the discounter is the world’s first supplier of free sanitary towels and, in Germany, customers can now also pay contactless thanks to Lidl Pay.
Free tampons and sanitary towels
Lidl is working its way into the limelight with two new nationwide initiatives. In Ireland, the supermarket chain commits to helping fight period poverty, a phenomenon that recently came into the spotlight, by providing free menstrual products to those who struggle to buy them. Through the Lidl app, people can sign up with their phone number and receive a monthly coupon for a free box of sanitary towels or tampons.
Nearly half of Irish girls aged between 12 and 19 sometimes struggle to buy menstrual products from, according to Plan International. To reach women who don’t have smartphones, especially the homeless, Lidl also pledges to donate products to the Simon Communities charity quarterly. Football clubs across Ireland will also soon receive tampons and sanitary towels from Lidl. The chain would be the first major retailer to take such an initiative.
Paying in the app
Less charitable, but at least as large-scale, is the roll-out of Lidl Pay in Lidl’s German home market. Customers can now pay contactless using the Lidl Plus app: at checkout, they can simultaneously redeem coupons digitally and pay for their purchases. The system works via instant transfer and is therefore independent of the customer’s credit card. Payment is also not made via NFC but by scanning a QR code. Shoppers still need to confirm the transfer in the app by entering their PIN or providing their fingerprint.
In Poland and Spain, customers have already been able to pay via the Lidl app for some time. Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, trials have also been carried out in Germany, but it is only now that the app is rolled out nationwide. To encourage consumers to use the new feature, they will receive a voucher of 5 euros to use during their next first payment through the app.
