Asda sees online sales surge as customer habits ‘shift’ during pandemic

20 Aug 2020

Henry Saker-Clark, PA City Reporter

Click and collect sales quadrupled for the quarter due to ‘the increased and sustained appetite for online grocery shopping’.

Asda has said that online sales doubled in the past quarter after the coronavirus pandemic caused a “structural shift” in customer shopping habits.

It reported a 3.8% jump in like-for-like sales for the three months to June 30 after online grocery sales jumped as shoppers were advised to stay at home.

The supermarket chain said that online sales “doubled” in the second quarter after it increased its delivery capacity by 65% during the period.

Click and collect sales also quadrupled for the quarter due to “the increased and sustained appetite for online grocery shopping”, it said.

Asda chief executive and president Roger Burnley told the PA news agency that the retailer has seen changes in customer behaviour start to sustain following the virus.

He said an increase in home-cooking had bolstered sales since March, although this could “slow as people start to eat out more again”.

He added: “The pandemic has created a structural shift in customer behaviours towards grocery shopping.

“We have accelerated our online capacity expansion to meet levels we had anticipated reaching in eight years within a matter of weeks and we will continue to expand this offer.

“We will also maintain focus on ensuring our in-store experience delivers what customers want from a shopping trip – great value, relevant range and ease.

“As life under Covid-19 continues, customer concerns are shifting from the health consequences of the pandemic to its financial impacts – and we remain absolutely committed to protecting both their health, and their budgets.”

Mr Burnley said the company will continue to “keep prices low” as the retailer’s own data revealed a 2.2% fall in spending power among UK families.

The supermarket said it is also expanding its delivery trial with Uber Eats to 25 more stores over the next eight weeks, as it looks to tap into more demand for grocery delivery.

Earlier on Tuesday, new figures from Kantar said that Asda suffered the biggest fall in market share of the Big Four supermarket chains over the 12 weeks to August 9.