Asda Is Challenging Ecommerce with Express Delivery and Digital Content
Our valiant supermarkets have really been holding the line during the COVID-19 crisis and we should all feel an immense sense of gratitude and pride in those retail staff who got out of bed each morning and dealt with the challenges of the pandemic head on.
There have, of course, been many challenges when it comes to brick-and-mortar supermarket business – installing safety measures, increased cleaning, and sanitization, dealing with more irate and stressed customers than usual – but there have also been difficulties on the digital side of the business as well.
A massive uptick in online sales saw delivery slots fill fast and it was not unusual during lockdown to have to wait over a week to get your groceries delivered – a fact which posed particular challenges for those vulnerable people instructed to shield who were unable to visit a supermarket in person.
However, now [hopefully] the worst of the crisis has passed, the business of supermarket ecommerce can start focusing on innovation again.
Asda
British supermarket chain, Asda has been a mainstay of the country’s grocery business for decades. Even after the brand was purchased by American mega-corporation Walmart, it has continued to offer families essential products at extremely competitive prices.
Now Asda is building on this reputation and supercharging its ecommerce offering by making ultra-fast delivery available to its customers for the first time. Asda has recently announced it will be rolling out a one-hour express delivery service to 96 of its UK stores and make the act of buying groceries online more convenient than ever.
There are a couple of caveats which must be met for customers to take advantage of the scheme. They must live within three miles of a participating Asda Express store and their order must not contain more than 70 items.
Asda trialed the express delivery program at its stores in Halifax, Poole, Rotherham, and St Matthews back in June and was incredibly pleased with the engagement it saw from customers, reporting that the number of people who partook in the scheme exceeding all its projections.
There is no minimum spend and a flat delivery charge of £8.50 is applied to the order when asking for express delivery. Customers of one of 300 Asda stores can already order products through Uber Eats, making express delivery another string to the supermarket chain’s bow when it comes to offering more convenient ways for people to shop.
"We are rolling out our Express Delivery service to almost 100 stores after a trial showed there was a clear gap in the market for a speedy delivery service offering our full online product range for delivery within one hour," said Asda’s Vice President of Online Grocery, Simon Gregg. "We have seen a significant number of customers access this option, with slots regularly selling out at our pilot stores. We anticipate more demand for this flexible service now that many of our customers have returned to their place of work and children are back at school."
Digital Content
Another way Asda is making its online presence more keenly felt, and maximize online engagement and conversions is through its digital content strategy.
Enhanced product description pages, comparison tables, and product tours are all being planned which will enable Asda’s suppliers to better promote their products via the supermarket giant’s online portal. This enhanced level of digital product promotion will increase the number of customers engaging with the platform, help Asda better optimize its website for search engines, and shorten the path to making a purchase and therefore reducing the chances of abandoned shopping carts.
This strategy feeds nicely into Asda’s expended and enhanced delivery options described above and will make the supermarket chain’s ecommerce operation a far better proposition from a customer experience perspective.
"Over the past few years we have been on a mission to improve our basics on Front and Back of pack imagery and content to ensure we are on time and fully compliant with current and new legislations on the horizon," said Senior Manager of eCommerce Merchandising, Rob Barlow. "We firmly believe that investment into additional content will create the height of information to support customer curiosity and in turn increased conversion across brands and own label."
Final Thoughts
Supermarkets all over the world are making their presence felt in the ecommerce industry and Asda is just the latest to throw its hat into the ring. With exciting features such as express delivery and an enhanced digital content strategy, we’re certain Asda will be one to watch in the online shopping space.
The increasing popularity of grocery ecommerce is sure to part of the conversation at eTail Europe 2022, taking place in April at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London, UK.
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