Christophe Albericci's Predictions 2026

Christophe Albericci’s case to retailers is not sentimental: print earns its place when it moves footfall and turnover. In this Predictions 2026 interview, he argues that the winning model is “less, but better” — tighter targeting, stronger print-digital orchestration and sharper ROI discipline, rather than blunt cost-cutting.

At a glance

1. Print delivers retail ROI — Mediaposte cites +9% traffic and +9% turnover.
2. Retailers still underestimate print attention and planning value.
3. The 2026 rule is less, but better: tighter targeting, better personalisation.
4. Best returns come from print-digital orchestration — but data silos still block execution.
5. Cutting print too hard can be a false economy in retail.
6. The biggest ROI killer is blunt cost-cutting, not print itself.

Q. What argument do you use with French retailers to encourage them to use more print in 2026?

Printed advertising is highly effective throughout the shopper journey. Sixty per cent of people who receive printed advertising leaflets read them to plan their shopping. For 84% of those exposed, reading the most recent leaflet gave them information about the brand’s or retailer’s promotions.

On average, it generates +9% in-store traffic and +9% incremental turnover per effective campaign. These figures show that print is not only effective, but also a powerful medium for capturing consumers’ attention and stimulating sales. What’s more, Sixty-four per cent of French people read a printed advertising leaflet every week, making it an essential channel for reaching a local, engaged customer base.

Q. What makes a printed campaign effective at getting consumers into store in 2026, and what is the most common mistake that makes it ineffective?

A successful printed campaign relies on greater personalisation and precise geographical targeting. For example, using geomarketing data makes it possible to focus efforts on areas where customer potential is highest. The most common mistake is a lack of message relevance or poorly targeted distribution, which can dilute impact. In 2026, printed advertising is no longer a mass tool, but an optimised lever for local, targeted communication—moving towards ‘less, but better’.

Q. In 2026, where will we see the best connections between print and digital, and what is the main obstacle in France?

The strongest synergies sit between addressed mail campaigns (to customer or prospect databases) and QR-code activations or promotional offers. These approaches create a direct link between paper and digital platforms, strengthening engagement and making it easier to track conversions. The main obstacle remains customer data integration, and sometimes a lack of smooth collaboration between organisational silos, which limits truly optimal orchestration of omnichannel campaigns.

Q. As spending shifts towards digital media, what trade-offs will brands make, and what change in behaviour would you like to see?

With rising spend on digital media, advertisers need to find a strategic balance. By prioritising digital, they risk losing the emotional connection and proximity that print provides. Yet tangible formats remain highly valued by consumers: 74% of paper catalogue readers say that this format directly influences their purchasing decisions. It is therefore essential for brands to adopt a balanced mix, where print plays a key role in inspiring trust and engagement, while digital brings precision and measurement.

Printed advertising proves perfectly complementary to digital communication. It is a medium that consumers choose to welcome into their homes, and they generally consult it with full attention, offering a unique opportunity to convey content. A real pause in everyday life, printed advertising is appreciated for being non-intrusive, delivered directly to the home and consulted at the consumer’s own pace. In fact, 76% of printed advertising items are looked at or read attentively, while 40% are read mindfully—that is, without doing other activities at the same time. The average reading time reaches 4 minutes and 13 seconds, reinforcing its role as a privileged moment in the consumer’s day.

Q. After Oui Pub, what is still misunderstood about acceptance of unaddressed leaflets, and what should we remember for 2026?

Some people underestimate consumers’ interest in printed advertising leaflets, seeing them as intrusive. This success is driven by relevance and the perceived added value for consumers.

A misconception also persists about the environmental impact of paper. However, the life-cycle assessment (LCA) carried out by ADEME as part of the Oui Pub experiment shows that the environmental impacts of digital can sometimes be equivalent to, or even higher than, those of paper. The study shows that switching to a 100% digital mix (requiring up to eight digital levers to replace a printed leaflet). It also highlights that the diversity of advertising formats and customer journeys does not allow us to conclude that using less paper, offset by increased digital use, would necessarily be less polluting.

Moreover, a transition to 100 per cent digital advertising would strengthen the dominance of US digital giants, worsening their monopoly on our territory and calling into question our economic and digital sovereignty.

For these reasons, we should maintain a balanced media mix (paper/digital), supporting more considered communication that meets consumers’ expectations.

Q. What does ‘proximity’ mean in practice for print in 2026, and where can it still improve?

Print excels at proximity thanks to its ability to reach consumers in their daily lives, whether through leaflets or targeted mailings. It helps create a direct, tangible link with local communities.

Q. Which use of addressed mail should be used more in 2026, and why?

Addressed mail should be used more for loyalty programmes and customer reactivation campaigns. This premium format enables personalisation and an emotional impact that is difficult to achieve through other channels. However, businesses need to invest in high-quality customer databases and encourage creativity to maximise effectiveness.

Q. How do you sell print to your clients in 2026, and what objection do you encounter most often?

We highlight its ability to generate immediate and measurable ROI.

The most common objection remains the perceived cost, even though results show that printed advertising is a profitable and sustainable investment for brands.

Q. Which cost-optimisation habit harms print effectiveness the most, and what should change?

Excessive volume cuts or poor targeting undermine campaign impact.