Legacy retailers must team with more nimble startups, Asda CSO
The past 12 months have seen a shift towards big retailers “not needing to own everything” and instead partnering with companies in areas where they are unable to move quickly. And this has gone to the next level during the coronavirus outbreak.
That’s the view of Preyash Thakrar, Chief Strategy Officer, Asda. Speaking at FUTR Live yesterday, he flagged up a recent example of the grocery giant working with a nimble startup.
StarStock is powering a new initiative to help vulnerable and shielded customers receive food and essential items. Closely following the launch of its mypubshop platform, foodboxes.asda.com provides access to the supermarket’s new Cupboard Filler box.
For £30, customers will receive up to 31 items, including supplies that have been in high demand amid the coronavirus pandemic, such as cereal, bread, pasta, tinned fruit and vegetables, sauces, jam, teabags and long-life milk. A selection of treats is also included.
Asda is also working with StarStock and logistics partner IPL to fulfil deliveries within two days of the customer’s order, without affecting its existing home shopping service. “Over the course of 20 days, we built this from scratch and got the boxes out to customers,” Thakrar observed.
Changing times
Also at FUTR Live, Thakrar highlighted customer trends emerging through necessity during the coronavirus crisis.
Social distancing is driving completely different trends to the early days of stock piling, he noted. There has been a move away from customers being promiscuous to a focus on one large shop every week, supplemented by top ups at community convenience stores.
Asda has also seen its database grow considerably as shoppers more willingly share their information with retailers. “It’s impossible to get a slot with Ocado unless you are a Smart Pass member. The number of customers on our database has gone up by a third in the last eight weeks to around 13 million.”
The online groceries space is, somewhat unsurprisingly, booming right now. Asda has 30% more delivery slots than eight weeks ago, but, like its rivals, is still struggling to meet demand.
“A lot of the dramatic shift to online groceries will stick, particularly with many older people trying it out for the first time during the coronavirus lockdown,” Thakrar predicted.
