Category Archives: Waitrose

The big question for shoppers

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Shoppers at the shelf edge often have one nagging question. Can I get this same item cheaper at another store? If you are in a grocery store looking at branded products the answer is much more likely to be no.  All of the big grocers have some form of price matching and now Waitrose has just announced: From today, our prices on branded grocery products are now identical to Tesco’s, excluding promotions. Every day common pricing (EDCP) EDCP is simpler for shoppers as there is less Read more [...]

Retail is detail

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Tesco's Chief Executive, Philip Clarke, emphasised in his strategy for putting Tesco UK back on track that "retail is detail".  I'm sure that we all agree with him. The challenge for Tesco, and most other retailers, is that shoppers have increasingly high expectations about their shopping experience. They have a much lower tolerance of long checkout queues, missing price tickets, misleading promotions and poor customer service.  Not only has the base line risen but it keeps rising. For Read more [...]

Waitrose score high on value

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Which, the consumer magazine, asked 11,000 members in October 2011 what they thought about supermarkets and the results are now in. The overall winner by a considerable margin was Waitrose. This is the third year running that they have achieved this - congratulations to Waitrose. But wait a minute, how can this be? In these harsh financial times we keep hearing that shoppers are watching every penny and going out of their way to get the lowest prices.  So how does Waitrose manage to get such Read more [...]

Mobile at the Summit

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On 27 September I joined over 100 retailers at The Retail Bulletin Mobile Summit in London. Definitely a worthwhile trip. The presentations from Waitrose, Tesco, Halfords, New Look and almost everyone else illustrated just how fast mobile has shifted from a new technology that a few iPhone loving customers might be interested in to something that is an integral part of retailers business and marketing strategy.  For many this transition has taken just 18 months. Things are continuing to move Read more [...]

Which retailers really get “local”?

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Many retailers claim to be thinking and acting in a more local way. Aside from sourcing products locally here are a few examples of "local" that I've spotted. I'm sure there are lots more.  Please send me any interesting and different examples that you know of. Fatface with different styles of store front to fit in with the smaller towns where many of their stores are located and their willingness to let the community share their space. White Stuff with lots of in-store events designed to Read more [...]