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| ’Tis the season to go shopping – but glad tidings are scarce for UK retailers | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Nikki Mitchell’s trolley was laden with her Christmas turkey and Christmas sprouts, but there was space left for Christmas broccoli or Christmas blackberries. Unfortunately, her local supermarket had run out. “I’m going to have to come back, but it’s not that bad,” she said, surveying the checkout queues with her husband, David. “It’s busy but it hasn’t been as busy as I expected. Probably the hardest thing was getting a trolley – we had to accost someone on the way out.” | Nikki Mitchell’s trolley was laden with her Christmas turkey and Christmas sprouts, but there was space left for Christmas broccoli or Christmas blackberries. Unfortunately, her local supermarket had run out. “I’m going to have to come back, but it’s not that bad,” she said, surveying the checkout queues with her husband, David. “It’s busy but it hasn’t been as busy as I expected. Probably the hardest thing was getting a trolley – we had to accost someone on the way out.” |
| Yesterday, dubbed Super Saturday by struggling but hopeful retailers, was for many the opportunity for a last-chance dash to the shops before Christmas. And the supermarkets were primed: the aisles of Mitchell’s local Tesco in London were stacked with turkeys of every kind, a dozen types of mince pie and festive spirits by the litre. Tesco said it had sold 4 million bags of carrots, Sainsbury’s had 300 Christmas lines on sale, and Aldi was expecting 2 million shoppers – its highest ever. Most of these shops were also selling partridges, if not pear trees. | Yesterday, dubbed Super Saturday by struggling but hopeful retailers, was for many the opportunity for a last-chance dash to the shops before Christmas. And the supermarkets were primed: the aisles of Mitchell’s local Tesco in London were stacked with turkeys of every kind, a dozen types of mince pie and festive spirits by the litre. Tesco said it had sold 4 million bags of carrots, Sainsbury’s had 300 Christmas lines on sale, and Aldi was expecting 2 million shoppers – its highest ever. Most of these shops were also selling partridges, if not pear trees. |
| To soothe the nerves of panicking customers, the supermarkets have extra staff to keep shelves stocked and work the tills. Waitrose – which expects today to be its busiest day – has five “turkey runners” in each shop to give out click-and-collect orders. Sainsbury’s has recruited an extra 6,000 workers, with staff from head office adding another 4,000 shifts. Asda has recruited so-called Christmas Champions to help. Waitrose, like the others, is extending its opening hours and has lorries leaving its distribution depots every 74 seconds. | To soothe the nerves of panicking customers, the supermarkets have extra staff to keep shelves stocked and work the tills. Waitrose – which expects today to be its busiest day – has five “turkey runners” in each shop to give out click-and-collect orders. Sainsbury’s has recruited an extra 6,000 workers, with staff from head office adding another 4,000 shifts. Asda has recruited so-called Christmas Champions to help. Waitrose, like the others, is extending its opening hours and has lorries leaving its distribution depots every 74 seconds. |
| If this all sounds a bit stressful, it is. With a nod to the customer who want to shop in peace, Morrisons switched off all its music yesterday and muted the tills so that the only beeps would come from the queues for the car park. | If this all sounds a bit stressful, it is. With a nod to the customer who want to shop in peace, Morrisons switched off all its music yesterday and muted the tills so that the only beeps would come from the queues for the car park. |
| More and more customers, however, do the Christmas food shopping online, for either delivery or in-store collection. Sainsbury’s said yesterday that it had made 220,000 deliveries since Thursday – about one a second – and even discount stores, such as Aldi, and small chains like Londis and Spar, have an online offering. | More and more customers, however, do the Christmas food shopping online, for either delivery or in-store collection. Sainsbury’s said yesterday that it had made 220,000 deliveries since Thursday – about one a second – and even discount stores, such as Aldi, and small chains like Londis and Spar, have an online offering. |
| Not everyone is a fan of this. Yesterday Ethel Abalake was picking up some last-minute bits, having bought a £27 turkey the day before. She’s catering for 20, but prefers to wait in queues than go online. “I don’t like shopping online,” she says. “I go to the shops to see it before I buy it.” | Not everyone is a fan of this. Yesterday Ethel Abalake was picking up some last-minute bits, having bought a £27 turkey the day before. She’s catering for 20, but prefers to wait in queues than go online. “I don’t like shopping online,” she says. “I go to the shops to see it before I buy it.” |
| Supermarkets have a problem with online shopping that is not shared with retailers such as Amazon, which last week was criticised for leaving parcels in bins or throwing them over fences. You can’t do that with a carton of eggs, although some unhappy customers think their drivers may have tried, and have turned to social media to vent their frustration. Complaints range from the failed attempt of a soldier in Afghanistan to send a hamper to his aged mother and items delivered being almost out of date to orders being cancelled completely. | Supermarkets have a problem with online shopping that is not shared with retailers such as Amazon, which last week was criticised for leaving parcels in bins or throwing them over fences. You can’t do that with a carton of eggs, although some unhappy customers think their drivers may have tried, and have turned to social media to vent their frustration. Complaints range from the failed attempt of a soldier in Afghanistan to send a hamper to his aged mother and items delivered being almost out of date to orders being cancelled completely. |
| Drivers feel under pressure too. The number of orders is the same as at other times of year, but in each one there are three times as many boxes to deliver, which means more vans making more trips, according to an Ocado driver who did not want to be named. | Drivers feel under pressure too. The number of orders is the same as at other times of year, but in each one there are three times as many boxes to deliver, which means more vans making more trips, according to an Ocado driver who did not want to be named. |
| One Asda driver, who also wanted to remain anonymous, said a new “dark store” – a warehouse laid out like a supermarket where the only “customers” are packers – didn’t have enough capacity for the number of vans it was serving. That meant more substituted items, and more disgruntled customers, he said. An alternative, pioneered by Ocado, has robots bringing the items to the packers, who can finish a shop in five minutes. | One Asda driver, who also wanted to remain anonymous, said a new “dark store” – a warehouse laid out like a supermarket where the only “customers” are packers – didn’t have enough capacity for the number of vans it was serving. That meant more substituted items, and more disgruntled customers, he said. An alternative, pioneered by Ocado, has robots bringing the items to the packers, who can finish a shop in five minutes. |
| “We’re still in the early stages of online food, and it’s all about market share,” said Richard Lim of analyst Retail Economics. “Retailers are really investing in the long-term potential of online. But their margins are wafer- thin: a typical £80 food order costs £5 to pick and £5 to deliver. Retailers are working on about 4% to 5% margins so they’re not making any discernible profit from this.” | “We’re still in the early stages of online food, and it’s all about market share,” said Richard Lim of analyst Retail Economics. “Retailers are really investing in the long-term potential of online. But their margins are wafer- thin: a typical £80 food order costs £5 to pick and £5 to deliver. Retailers are working on about 4% to 5% margins so they’re not making any discernible profit from this.” |
| Supermarkets and retailers are all nervous about Christmas. Operating costs are rising faster than profits, creating a “really hostile” environment for shops, Lim said. Saturday daytime “footfall” – the number of people visiting shops in high streets, retail parks and shopping centres – is 10% down on last year, according to analyst Springboard, which believes Boxing Day footfall will be down 5.2%. | Supermarkets and retailers are all nervous about Christmas. Operating costs are rising faster than profits, creating a “really hostile” environment for shops, Lim said. Saturday daytime “footfall” – the number of people visiting shops in high streets, retail parks and shopping centres – is 10% down on last year, according to analyst Springboard, which believes Boxing Day footfall will be down 5.2%. |
| “Wages are up and inflation is down,” Lim said, “which would suggest there’s more spending power. But that differs massively among income groups.” He cited an income tracker by Asda and the Centre for Economics and Business Research that shows the poorest 20% of households have seen their discretionary spending fall every month since June 2016. | “Wages are up and inflation is down,” Lim said, “which would suggest there’s more spending power. But that differs massively among income groups.” He cited an income tracker by Asda and the Centre for Economics and Business Research that shows the poorest 20% of households have seen their discretionary spending fall every month since June 2016. |
| “Overall, I think Christmas is going to be tough this year.” | “Overall, I think Christmas is going to be tough this year.” |
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