Tesco triumphs over Sainsbury's in online delivery space
Sainsbury’s reports that it has increased the number of online delivery slots available weekly by nearly 50% and the ambition is to deliver 600,000 slots per week.
Tesco, by way of comparison, has gone from 590,000 in the first week of the coronavirus crisis, to over one million. The plan is to hit 1.2 million slots in the next two weeks.
Sainsbury’s talked online delivery numbers as Chief Executive Mike Coupe said the retailer would take a £500 million profit hit from the costs of keeping staff and customers safe from Covid-19.
At the same time, however, Sainsbury’s expects profits for the year to be in line with City expectations, due to saving £450 million in business rates under the government’s business aid scheme, and also a surge in grocery sales.
Safety screens
The aforementioned additional costs include the introduction of new safety screens between manned checkouts in 150 of its busiest stores.
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The aim is to create a clear barrier between queues. This enables the grocery giant to reopen the vast majority of belted checkouts and means customers will be able to pay for their shopping faster while still ensuring social distancing guidelines are met. Sainsbury’s also expects queues outside stores to be smaller.
It trialled the new screens in its Whitechapel store for just over a week. It also will review whether more locations would benefit from them and is commencing a trial of safety screens at self-service checkouts.
