Name: Simon Gregg
Job title: senior VP of e-commerce
How has the Asda online grocery business performed in the past year? We continue to see growth in our online business well above pre-pandemic levels, with sales up by 75% compared to 2019. and regained our position as the UK’s second largest online grocery retailer based on Kantar data.
To what do you attribute this performance? We know customers want speedy deliveries and a good selection of products, without having to pay over the odds. We’ve accelerated our partnerships with Just Eat and Uber Eats and continue to look at new partnerships with last mile operators, such as Buymie, which is currently being trialled in Leeds and Bristol. Last year, we were the first supermarket to launch a one-hour express delivery service that gave customers the chance to shop the full online range at store prices. This service has since been rolled out to 150 stores with more to follow this year.
How are online shopper behaviours changing? We’re seeing a rise in the number of customers shopping for tonight as well as tomorrow, with convenience a driving factor behind the popularity of rapid delivery. As lives become busy again, we continue to see customers selecting rapid delivery for top-up shops and essentials.
Do you have any plans to improve the online business? We are bringing our 11 separate online businesses together to simplify the user experience. And we’re constantly evolving in line with consumer trends.
What impact is the cost of living crisis having on online groceries? We recently made our full Smart Price value range available online to support price-sensitive customers and in May will launch a new value range called Just Essentials. This range will have 100 more products than Smart Price but still offer the same great value. To ensure as many customers a possible can access this range, it will be available in all stores and online.
What is Asda doing to make online grocery delivery more sustainable? We are currently trialling electric vehicles on our home delivery fleet and passive cooling solutions that remove the need for refrigerated vehicles. We also introduced Lightfoot in-cab technology to all 3,000 home delivery vehicles, which provides live feedback to help drivers consider how they’re driving and adjust this accordingly. This not only improves driver safety, but also helps reduce CO2 emissions and MPG for each trip.
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