Ocado to launch predictive software for shoppers

Ocado to launch predictive software for shoppers

Online supermarket Ocado.com is launching a tool that will predict when you are running out of items you've ordered from its site.

Ocado was a favourite of Which? members in our latest survey of online supermarkets, ahead of rivals Tesco.com and Asda.co.uk. The online supermarket delivers Waitrose products - our top performing shop in the recent Which? high streets shops survey, and is partly owned by recent Which? Award winner John Lewis.

Ocado tells Which? that the new feature, Ocado Reserved, will launch ‘in the next few weeks'.

A spokesman said the company was currently 'testing and refining' the service.

Ocado to predict your shopping

Ocado says Ocado Reserved will work alongside the recently launched Ocado Instant Order, which automatically generates an order based on what shoppers have bought in the past.

With Ocado Reserved, customers book a favourite weekly, fortnightly or monthly delivery slot and have their ‘regular’ basket automatically prepared by Ocado Instant Order. Ocado says shoppers can decide if they want to use Ocado Reserved. If they do they will be sent a confirmation of their predicted order well in advance of delivery, so they can edit it if they want.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that sales at Waitrose have topped £100m since the launch of the supermarket chain's Essential Range of goods at cheaper prices.

Tesco posts record profits of £3.1bn.

Tesco’s underlying pre-tax profits passed the £3bn mark for the first time in the year to the end of February, totalling £3.1bn, an increase of 8.8 per cent.

Group sales were £59.4bn, up 13.5 per cent on a consistent 52 week basis. UK sales grew 9.5 per cent to £41.5 bn, with like for like sales up 4.3 per cent. The company said it saw strong evidence of customers trading down as the year progressed. Non-food sales were up 5 per cent, but clothing sales were down 2 per cent.

International sales grew 13.6 per cent at constant exchange rates, with Asia performing particularly well, where sales grew almost 20 per cent at constant rates. European sales were up 6.9 per cent at constant rates on a consistent 52-week basis, with conditions worsening as the year progressed.

Tesco’s progress in the US continues to be slow however, with trading losses of £142 million being reported on sales of £208 million.

“We are responding to customers’ changing needs in all our markets by lowering prices, introducing more affordable products and offering even sharper promotions,” said chief executive Sir Terry Leahy. “These actions, combined with our core strengths - in selling food and everyday essentials, owning our own property and having a broad business base - are helping us to cope well with the effects of the downturn.”

The new financial year has started with a 12 per cent rise in group sales, excluding petrol, over the first six weeks, with UK like for likes up 3.4 per cent.

Aldi joins price wars with raft of 99p products.

Aldi has slashed the price of some of its most popular products to just 99p as it wades into the supermarket price wars.

The German discounter has cut prices permanently on products such as fruit juices, cheeses, pasta salads, steak cut-chips and household cleaning items.

Aldi UK and Ireland group managing director Paul Foley said: “Avoiding short-term promotions offering consumers freebies they don’t need enables customers to save more at the checkout.”
Aldi said it has increased shopper numbers 11 per cent in the first three months of the year.

Morrisons profits surge as like-for-likes climb

Morrisons' like-for-like sales climbed 7.9 per cent in the year to February 1, excluding fuel.
Pre-tax profits at the grocer rose to £655m, from £612m the year before. This included £2m of property gains, versus £32m the year before.

Turnover grew 12 per cent to £14.5bn, with around 3 per cent of that growth attributable to the increased price of fuel during the period.

Customer numbers grew 4.2 per cent and average basket spend rose 3.6 per cent. The Morrisons board is recommending a final dividend of 5p per share, to bring the total for the year to 5.8p - an increase of 21 per cent.

Morrisons has benefited as budget-conscious consumers look for value during the downturn. The grocer launched over 21,000 price cuts in the year, when its market share grew from 12.1 per cent to 12.3 per cent, according to TNS market research data. It said it has successfully completed plans to revamp its stores, product offer and brand.

Net debt increased to £642m, up from £543m the year before, after a £678m investment in nine store openings, the freehold to its new distribution centre in Sittingbourne in Kent and payments in to its pension fund.

The retailer, which has 382 stores, will extend its target of having 1 million sq ft of new store space by January 2010 by a further 500,000 sq ft following its acquisition of Co-op/Somerfield stores. It will open around 350,000 sq ft of new retail space in the coming year.

The board will retain capital originally set aside for share buy-backs in the 2009/10 year for further investment opportunities.

Morrisons chief executive Marc Bolland said: "Our focus on fresh food and value appeals to shoppers everywhere and provides a strong platform to take Morrisons from national to nationwide."

Panmure Gordon retail analyst Philip Dorgan said: "The hike in capital expenditure and the promise to look for further acquisitions increases the risk profile, which is already being affected by the outlook for the industry. Margins fell in 2008/09 and we expect further falls in the current year, which drives our well below-consensus earnings estimates."

Asda cuts prices and pledges 'absolute' price transparency

Asda will start to cut another 5,000 prices this weekend and has pledged to provide customers with "absolute" price transparency.

By Easter, the grocer said it will have cut a total of 12,500 prices this year.
Asda vowed to demonstrate value to shoppers by bidding "goodbye to bogofs and any deals or promotions that aren't substantiated by a price".

The retailer said it will not "baffle" consumers by making "vague claims or putting up any prices that can't be fully justified".

It promised: "Customers are guaranteed to be always shown the price they'll pay for every item, deal or no deal."

Asda chief merchandising officer Darren Blackhurst warned suppliers that the grocer would "not stand for any price rises that can't be justified".

He said: "With the country in recession we need to do all we can to lower the cost of the weekly shop and do the right thing by our customers. That's what our price pledge is all about – good honest value week in, week out."

Asda wants shoppers to "highlight products or services that don't deliver real value" and is creating what it described as "the UK's most comprehensive open-access point" on its web site for them to do so.

Asda chief executive Andy Bond said: "We're engaging with our customers in a transparent way to ensure the products we sell and the prices we charge meet their needs in these difficult times."

Additionally, Asda is launching a Saving You Money TV channel on YouTube, enabling consumers to swap cash-saving tips.

Waitrose to blog on NPD

Waitrose has joined the digital revolution with an online tasting panel and foodie blog.

MyWaitrose.com will be launched at the end of the month offering consumers behind-the-scenes insights into NPD, as well as monthly special offers, invites to meet buyers at tasting events and the chance to give their views on products.

“MyWaitrose will engage with customers on a totally new level,” said Richard Hodgson, Waitrose’s commercial director.MyWaitrose manager Jane Orchard added: “We want to continue offering the best food and service, and our customers are best placed to keep us in check. They know a lot about food and cooking so we are offering them direct involvement in the food that appears on our shelves.”

Tesco launches superstore format at Liverpool One, piling pressure on non-food rivals

Tesco will next week unveil a new store fascia – Superstore – in the centre of Liverpool.
The groundbreaking 28,600 sq ft shop opens on Monday in the flagship Liverpool One development in the city centre. Operating over two floors, it carries lines including clothing, electricals and homewares, as well as a full range of food.

A Tesco spokeswoman insisted its first superstore in a city centre does not represent an attempt to create a department store model. However, the grocer's fashion, homewares and other general merchandise lines will compete with a variety of Liverpool One retailers including John Lewis, Debenhams and Zara Home.

The spokeswoman said: "The Liverpool shop is a new development for us and allows us to try our superstore in a city centre.

"The format looks quite different and means our customers can have access to the full range without going to an out-of-town location." More such stores may open if Liverpool is successful.
Planet Retail global research director Bryan Roberts said: "Having a Tesco in a city centre will mean it competes with those mid-market retailers and their non-food offer is compelling."

The Liverpool shop's product lines will be priced in line with other Tesco superstores, instead of the higher prices usually associated with its city centre fascias Metro and Express.

Roberts said: "Tesco has proved that it can exist in any environment and if a location makes sense in terms of rent and servicing, then they will stick a store anywhere."

He added that while Tesco and other grocers have previously had reservations about taking central sites because of high rents, the grocer has clearly identified the prospect of "decent margins".
"There will be lots of competition for central sites like these from players such as TK Maxx, so they will be limited in how many of these stores they can open. But it is clearly an opportunity to try a new location and shows they are looking at sites that fit well for its non-food as well as grocery," Roberts said.

The Liverpool Tesco has a rooftop car park and most tills are self-service. Roberts said the shop would benefit both from convenience shoppers and those who want "everything under one roof".
The initiative follows Tesco's development of a department store model in the Czech Republic, which is due to open next week. That store will stock fashion brands such as Cortefiel and Adidas alongside own-labels.

Tesco Valentine's deal

M & S Valentines deal

Tesco, Waitrose, and Aldi offer Valentine's Day meal deals on a budget like Toad in the Hole

This year retailers are spreading the love by offering consumers Valentine's Day on a budget. The price of roses, chocolate and own-brand Prosecco are being slashed faster than teenagers in a horror movie.

At Sainsbury's, shoppers can snap up a bottle of Codorniu Cava and Thorntons chocolate for £10, almost half their individual retail price.

Tesco has chosen Valentine's Day as the ideal moment to launch a cheaper version of Marks & Spencer's highly successful ‘Eat in for £10' offer.

It is offering a main, side dish, dessert and bottle of wine for two from the Tesco Finest range for nine pounds. Toad in the Hole and breaded cod fishcakes are two of the less-than-romantic dishes included in the deal.

We may not be known as the world's most romantic nation, but this may not be a case of ‘every little helps'.

Waitrose is also running Valentine's meal deals with money off selected champagnes and sparkling wines, a three-course meal for two for £10 and a £5 brunch. There is of course a risk that those that spent a tenner on a microwave meal for Valentine's Day won't reach the brunch stage.
Aldi, the budget supermarket, has cleverly avoided putting a price on romance and instead is helping its customers whip up culinary masterpieces this Valentine's Day with an online cook-along with TV chef Phil Vickery.

Wetherspoons has ditched the Valentine's curry club offer it ran last year, possibly having realised that spicy curry and a warm pint tend not to have an aphrodisiac effect. Instead it is offering couples two steaks and a bottle of wine for £14.99, which will hopefully make the course of true love run a bit more smoothly.

And for those that want to impress their loved one with that Bridget Jones favourite, ‘the mini-break', Ryanair, the no-frills airline that takes pride in being cheap, is promoting travel vouchers with personalised messages as Valentine's day gifts.

Of course, Valentine's Day cynics and people that don't want to stump up a tenner should remember that writing a poem is free: ‘Roses are red, violets are blue, I haven't brought you anything, but I still love you'.

Value supermarkets continue to shrink Tesco's market share

Tesco is still losing market share as consumers continue to favour the value and discount supermarkets to help them through the credit crunch.

Tesco had a 0.5 share point drop to 30.7 per cent in the 12 weeks to January 25, according to the latest TNS Worldpanel grocery market share figures.

Aldi lead the charge for market share, up 0.4 share points after recording year-on-year growth of 24.7 per cent as its discounted ranges continue to find favour amongst credit crunch shoppers.
The grocery market overall continued to grow on last year, up 6.4 per cent for the period.

Asda and Morrisons both lifted their share as they grew well ahead over the market as a whole. Asda grew 8.1 per cent and Morrisons 9.7 per cent respectively, the figures showed.

Waitrose has struggled to achieve growth in current market conditions with flat year-on-year sales resulting in a share decline from 3.9 per cent a year ago to 3.7 per cent.

The figures also showed that grocery price inflation had effectively stalled for the 12-week period, at 8.4 per cent, after the decline of the pound had an adverse effect on produce and imported food prices.

Amazon poised to launch UK online grocery range

Amazon UK is set to shake up the grocery e-tail market with the launch of an online food offer.

Amazon is expected to emulate its US grocery offer, comprising more than 45,000 non-perishable items, in this country. A launch date has yet to be decided but industry sources said it is likely to be this year.

In the US, Amazon offers shoppers savings by enabling them to buy in bulk. The e-tailer also offers free delivery to prime customers and tracks routine purchases on a shopping list feature on its site.
Amazon is also testing a perishable food offer, AmazonFresh, in the Seattle area in the US's Northwest and is asking customers to vote on whether the offer should be extended to more locations.

Sources said that they do not expect the fresh food range to be introduced in the UK soon, although this country's size would make it logistically easier to provide a wider fresh food offer.
Nielsen Online analyst Alex Burmaster believed that an Amazon food launch in the UK would be good for competition. "Potentially supermarkets should be nervous as the Amazon name is so well known and it is one of the original, old school online brands," he said.

But Amazon's plans may also face a few obstacles.

Burmaster added: "Its biggest challenge could be to change the customer mindset on a site renowned for selling books and DVDs. It is not a natural progression, but it has been adding to its portfolio over the past few years and becoming more of a one stop shop for customers."

An Amazon spokesman said that he could not comment on future plans. In October the e-tail giant waded into the fast growing online fashion market with a range of more than 20,000 lines from retailers and brands including La Senza, La Redoute and Puma.

As Retail Week went to press Amazon was poised to reveal sales results for the fourth quarter of last year.

Waitrose: Brits unaware of European pork farming standards

Waitrose has revealed the majority of Brits are in the dark when it comes to European Union pig farming standards.The retailer said 70% of UK consumers are unaware of the conditions imported pigs are reared in, and almost 60% will now stop eating foreign pork.

An additional 85% of respondents to the poll - conducted by YouGov for Waitrose - said they want to see clearer labels on pork products so they can be sure of the origins of the meat.

Currently, retailers can label meat imported from abroad as British if it has been processed in the UK.The statistics come after TNS said this week free-range chicken sales have remained robust despite the recession.

Mark Price, Waitrose managing director, said: "There is still a real lack of awareness about the volume of imported pork and the fact that most of these pigs have been reared in intensive farming conditions. "Our research proves that when given clear information British people are willing to make buying decisions based on welfare standards. "UK pork may cost a little more but you can enjoy your bacon roll with a clear conscience and rest assured that you are also supporting the British pig industry."

The British Pig Executive has said three-quarters of the pigs imported for consumption are reared in conditions that would be illegal in Britain.Pigs reared in dark areas and narrow metal cages suffer from muscle weakness, digestive problems and cardiovascular problems, Waitrose said.

Supermarkets renew focus on vouchers

LONDON - Vouchers and money-off coupons are set to be the next big battleground for the UK's major supermarkets, according to industry experts.

All the big multiples increased their year-on-year adspend in the run-up to last Christmas, except Morrisons, which cut its spend by more than 29%.

However, the latter posted the greatest increase in market share, due, in part, to money-off voucher promotions. Retail analysts believe that one promotion offering customers a £20-off voucher when they spent more than £40 in three consecutive weeks was instrumental in generating its record Christmas sales.

According to insiders, Waitrose is also due to put coupons at the heart of its 2009 marketing strategy following a successful discount voucher promotion before Christmas. It is already offering money-off vouchers to customers who have recently reduced their regular spend at Waitrose.'

Coupons are used more during a recession. Retailers and brands see them as a cheap tactical solution to change consumer behaviour but not cause long-term brand damage,' said an Institute of Sales Promotion spokesman.

Voucher websites are the fastest-growing area of internet retail. Hitwise's UK research director, Robin Goad, said that one in every 200 visits to an online retail site now comes from a voucher site. 'Tesco voucher codes' was the top online search for voucher codes last month.

RSPCA Rooting for pigs: Homepage takeover

The RSPCA " Rooting for pigs" campaign featured on Channel 4's: Great British foodfight webpage.

A great example of a homepage takeover, with great media planning and buying with the run up to Jaime Oliver's show: Saving our bacon, on Channel 4, Thursday 29 Jan at 9pm.

Sainsbury's jobs to go in head office restructuring

Sainsbury's is to restructure its London head office which could lead to up to 300 jobs being cut.
Sainsbury's told Retail Week the retailer will restructure central support teams to "align them for future growth" and "ensure there is no duplication of activity and to simplify the central operation".

Sainsbury's has been in consultation with staff this week, Retail Week has learnt. Up to 300 roles could be lost at head office.

Sainsbury's has also restructured its three main business units – non-food, grocery and fresh food. The food trading team will be restructured into two larger business units, fresh and chilled food. A spokesman said new jobs will also be created and the move "will simplify activities and also enable greater synergies across our supplier base".

Simon Twigger has been appointed business unit director, fresh and chilled food, and Helen Buck, currently director of brand communications, is appointed as Business Unit director, grocery.

The non-food teams will be restructured under one overall director with Luke Jensen, currently strategy director, becoming managing director, non-food.

The spokesman said: "These changes are part of normal productivity changes undertaken over time. We reviewed our store management structures last year and also our HR store teams.
"This year we are a net creator of jobs, particularly in stores where we are growing trade levels and the store estate. We expect to open 16 stores and 50 convenience stores over the next 12 months."

Morrisons enjoys strong Christmas

Morrisons has unveiled a market-beating Christmas sales performance, with like-for-like sales up 8.2 per cent excluding fuel in the six weeks to January 4.

Total sales were up 9.4 per cent, or 7.7 per cent including fuel, and the company said it experienced record levels of trade across its 382 stores, attracting 2.2 million extra customers.

It attributed its success to its focus on fresh food and on strong promotions, and confirmed that it was successfully achieving the targets laid out in its three-year optimisation plan.

The company is awaiting approval to acquire 38 Co-op stores, with the handover of the new stores due to start in the first quarter of the new financial year and expected to take six months.

Morrisons said it remained cautious about the consumer environment but expects to hit profit expectations.

Retail round-up: what the weekend papers said, January 17 and 18, 2009

Morrisons was widely covered over the weekend with The Sunday Times, The Independent on Sunday and the Sunday Express expecting the grocer will emerge as the best performing supermarket chain over the festive period.

Morrisons is due to unveil a 7 to 8 per cent rise for Christmas sales in its trading update on Thursday. This year Morrisons is expected to embark on its biggest expansion programme since the acquisition of Safeway in 2003.

The Sunday Telegraph and The Mail on Sunday also revealed Marks & Spencer fired its managing director in China, just three months after launching its flagship store in Shanghai. Richard Sweet, who had been with M&S for more than 20 years, left after the store suffered a multitude of complaints about availability and range of products. Chinese customs officials blocked M&S goods and poor supply chain management resulted in rows of bare shelves at the store.

The Mail on Sunday also reported M&S is expected to cut down on the use of its glamorous models in its advertising campaigns. The paper said M&S had put them on short-term contracts if and when they are needed, as it seeks to cut back on costs.

The Financial Times revealed JJB founder Dave Whelan is one of thousands of depositors caught up in the Icelandic banking crisis, having had millions of pounds frozen in an account that he opened with Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander. Whelan also told the paper he was still interested in buying JJB's 50 health clubs, which the retailer is being forced to sell. JJB is looking for between £50m to £100m for the health clubs business. JJB was covered widely elsewhere with The Observer reporting the board of JJB will meet on Tuesday to decide the fate of its loss-making fashion chains.

The Mail on Sunday said JJB chief executive Chris Ronnie is expected to step down this week and The Sunday Times said Ronnie risks further investor anger as he is attempting to float a business on the Plus Market while battling to save the troubled retailer. Ronnie, whose future at JJB could be decided this week, is one of two directors of shell company Marlwood who intends to raise £300,000 from a share placing so it can invest in companies specialising in licensed products.

Study claims battery hens healthier than free-range

A controversial new European study claims free-range hens do not experience major health benefits over birds kept in battery conditions.

The Swedish report found birds kept in free-range or indoor barns suffered from higher rates of infection with mites or bacteria than those kept in cramped, but sterile, battery conditions.
The paper, by the Swedish National Veterinary Institute, found bacterial infections were common in almost three-quarters (74%) of free-range flocks – well above the 65% rate for caged flocks.

However, the report has already attracted criticism from animal rights campaigners, who said the researchers had focused on inexperienced farmers new to free-range farming.

"It is old data [from 2004] and the paper itself admits that some of the results may be skewed as this was a time when farmers with no experience of non-cage systems started setting them up and managing them," Soil Association poultry expert Anna Bassett told the Daily Mail.

"We would expect there to be an effect from inexperienced farmers," the paper says. "Free-range and organic systems have the potential to deliver far greater levels of bird welfare but the system is not so controlled or automated as battery cages and a higher degree of stockmanship and management is required."

The Great British Food Fight: The true cost of cheap food

As the credit crunch bites, thousands of families are cutting back by swapping expensive premium-range food for cheaper budget lines – but at what cost?

In this Dispatches investigation, part of Channel 4's The Great British Food Fight season, food critic and author, Jay Rayner, examines what goes into these budget products and asks why, too often, low cost means low quality.

Supermarkets are promoting their cheaper food lines as an answer to tighter household budgets, but how exactly are these foods produced? Enlisting the help of Michelin-starred chef, Heston Blumenthal, Jay discovers some of the tricks retailers use to make cheap products look more attractive and finds out just what goes into a 5p sausage. How much sugar, salt and fat feature in cheaper lines at the expense of nutritious content?

Dispatches also follows two families in Leeds as they try to reduce their weekly shopping bill – one by choosing supermarket value brands and the other by shopping at local independent stores. Are supermarkets really cheaper? And which family will manage to eat the healthier diet?

Finally, Jay shows how, for very little additional cost, supermarkets could improve the quality and nutritional value of their cheapest foods. Given their market dominance and huge profits, he argues, supermarkets surely have a responsibility to help their customers, in tough economic times, by swallowing the small cost of marketing more nutritious, cheap food.

Coming to Channel 4, Thursday, 22 January, 8pm

For more information of the Great British Food Fight, just follow:

http://www.channel4.com/food/on-tv/the-big-food-fight/


Happy Viewing!