Supermarkets discussion

[AlistairCowell]

(SWMBO says ASDA cheese is good, due to their origin as Associated Dairies, not sure that is still valid though.)

Probably not.

 

[dorsetdesiro]

I'm not sure that any of the current Big Four (Asda, Morrison's, Sainsbury's and Tesco) could really be considered as more up-market than the others. If you want "up-market" you'd go to Markie's or Waitrose

That's very true, yes M&S, Waitrose, Booths etc are obviously at the upmarket end & more so than the "traditional 4".

I meant to say within the main 4, Tesco, Sainsburys & Morrisons ARE upmarket when compared to Asda, however only slightly, also all the main 4 are of course not as premium & luxurious as M&S and Waitrose.

Asda's shopping environment is akin to a warehouse with pile it high, cheap & cheerful etc which obviously appeal to their core shoppers who are more concerned with bargains & bulk goods than the state of the stores. Iceland's Food Warehouse seems similiar in this way but not as big.

Sainsbury's store layouts & shopping experiences in comparison look more presentable (Habitat home goods section give a sort of look of John Lewis and the greeting cards section more Paperchase than Card Factory etc) so it could be argued Asda makes Sainsburys look like Waitrose.

 

[cactustwirly]

That's very true, yes M&S, Waitrose, Booths etc are obviously at the upmarket end & more so than the "traditional 4".

I meant to say within the main 4, Tesco, Sainsburys & Morrisons ARE upmarket when compared to Asda, however only slightly, also all the main 4 are of course not as premium & luxurious as M&S and Waitrose.

Asda's shopping environment is akin to a warehouse with pile it high, cheap & cheerful etc which obviously appeal to their core shoppers who are more concerned with bargains & bulk goods than the state of the stores. Iceland's Food Warehouse seems similiar in this way but not as big.

Sainsbury's store layouts & shopping experiences in comparison look more presentable (Habitat home goods section give a sort of look of John Lewis and the greeting cards section more Paperchase than Card Factory etc) so it could be argued Asda makes Sainsburys look like Waitrose.

I don't find Morrison's upmarket.
It's just an overpriced ASDA, the quality of the food isn't as good as Sainsburys or Tesco

I find Lidl and Aldi to be very middle class these days, a lot of Waitrose bags and Range Rovers in the car park. A good selection of high quality products via the "Deluxe" and "Specially Selected" ranges. I have found the same gastropub products in M&S and Aldi

 

[lookapigeon]

And one of my friends was observing just the other day that she thinks something has shifted within the more budget-friendly end of the market again recently, with Lidl with seemingly trying certainly in her area to reposition itself from a budget German discounter to a more mid-range outlet in terms of its products that's basically trying to be 1p cheaper than Tesco, but without the frills of Tesco stores And definitely a lot more branded goods compared to own label

It's always interesting when you go abroad to the same store (in this case Lidl) and getting one of the equivalent offers leaflets back to compare. The Lidl one in Spain had plenty more offers and discounts in compared to the equivalent in the UK. The UK one focused hard on promoting the Lidl+ app and promoting standard ranges in store, and only a few pages set aside for offers. It's nothing like it used to be when it was a "hard" discounter when I first visited there, staff loaded in on pallets, no baskets, pay by debit card only etc.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Completely agree and I really don't like lidl as a result

 

[Trackman]

Everyone should be fully aware that those brands are just that; they're just names that a very small number of large food groups use in order to pretend that there are competing products.

General foods springs to mind.

 

[52290]

I like Morrisons. No issues from me.

Nor me. I like the way they look after my moral health as well. When I purchase a copy of Viz magazine the red light flashes and someone comes round to check if I'm ok to withstand the terrors of the Fat Slags, Fru T Bun, Eight Ace and worse of all the Real Ale ****s. After all I'm only 80.

 

[johntea]

One thing that annoys me in retail (perhaps not so much the big supermarkets mind) is how some places force their staff to ask ‘would you like to buy our super special offer for £x today?!’

I was in OneBeyond the other day and the poor cashier was obviously forced to ask every customer ‘are you interested in a 59p bottle of water today?!’

I’m sure if the customer was that interested they would have picked one up before arriving at the checkout!

 

[Busaholic]

Sainsburys have had problems with fraudulent and fake money-off vouchers and coupons, to the extent that they’ve set the self checkouts to flag ALL coupons and vouchers as requiring verification and approval by a staff member.

I wonder how the staff member is able to verify such things. I also wonder what the market might be for a false voucher for a Times newspaper both with the exact day's date plus name of subscriber on it. It's yet another reason why Sainsburys is losing c£100 per week of my business each week, more when a wine offer is on.

 

[Busaholic]

Completely agree and I really don't like lidl as a result

I object to any store which requires you to enter through automatic doors, but then only allows you out when you have passed through the checkout area and another set of automatic doors. That is how my local Lidl is, so I've only been in it once.

 

[Kite159]

The number of boot stores that have closed or are closing is actually quite high, apart from the odd visit at a station or need for painkillers in a silly place. I've largely withdrawn my custom from them, expensive and no longer does most of what I wanted to do.

I used to use Boots quite a few times at stations* (outside London) as I found their selection of meal deal items slightly better than what is on offer in supermarkets, until they decided to increase the price of said meal deal within stations compared to other Boots stores. In most cases there is normally alternative supermarkets close by, and why pay £4,50 when you can pay £3,60 etc

(*Liverpool Lime Street, Birmingham New Street, Reading, Edinburgh etc)

 

[Harpo]

On differentiating between the supermarkets I share what others suggest around three bandings/strategies. My own labels for them are;

Consistent high prices,
Smoke and mirrors prices,
Consistent low prices.

Sainsburys, Tescos & Morrison sit in my ‘smoke & mirrors’ category due to all of their up/down pricing tricks and the knowledge that they price at both extremes. So, I don’t trust them and take care not to get mugged while bargain hunting.

 

[Hadders]

I wonder how the staff member is able to verify such things. I also wonder what the market might be for a false voucher for a Times newspaper both with the exact day's date plus name of subscriber on it. It's yet another reason why Sainsburys is losing c£100 per week of my business each week, more when a wine offer is on.

There are all sorts of fraudulent things that can happen with coupons and many retailers have suffered from fake coupons. I won't post any further details on a public forum in case it gives people 'ideas'.

Trust me, it's not fake vouchers for the Times newspaper that are a problem - there are far bigger issues than that.

 

[Strat-tastic]

One thing that annoys me in retail (perhaps not so much the big supermarkets mind) is how some places force their staff to ask ‘would you like to buy our super special offer for £x today?!’

I was in OneBeyond the other day and the poor cashier was obviously forced to ask every customer ‘are you interested in a 59p bottle of water today?!’

I’m sure if the customer was that interested they would have picked one up before arriving at the checkout!

Yes, I detest upselling too.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Yes, I detest upselling too.

The last time that I was asked if I would like to take advantage of a special offer, it was in Rymans and it was just a middle-quality pen that was on offer.

 

[jfollows]

Yes, I detest upselling too.

Likewise. It gives me yet another reason to avoid WHSmith. “If you buy a Daily Mail you get a free bar of chocolate.” Hmmm, let me think, I definitely don’t want the former and I’m not that bothered about the latter. So, no.

 

[Peter Sarf]

I used to use Boots quite a few times at stations* (outside London) as I found their selection of meal deal items slightly better than what is on offer in supermarkets, until they decided to increase the price of said meal deal within stations compared to other Boots stores. In most cases there is normally alternative supermarkets close by, and why pay £4,50 when you can pay £3,60 etc

(*Liverpool Lime Street, Birmingham New Street, Reading, Edinburgh etc)

Actually I forgot one thing about Boots - They deserve to survive because I usually find their sandwiches are cheaper than elsewhere.

On differentiating between the supermarkets I share what others suggest around three bandings/strategies. My own labels for them are;

Consistent high prices,
Smoke and mirrors prices,
Consistent low prices.

Sainsburys, Tescos & Morrison sit in my ‘smoke & mirrors’ category due to all of their up/down pricing tricks and the knowledge that they price at both extremes. So, I don’t trust them and take care not to get mugged while bargain hunting.

I have run aground on the price promise/match a few years ago. Was Pringles - I had noted the price at ASDA, then when next at a Sainsburys more local to me than ASDA I noticed they were price matching so I enquired. Sainsburys would not do it as the ASDA Pringles were in a tube only 2 or 3 grams heavier !. Cunning.

As for Buy One Get One Free. I forget the exact prices but Tesco were doing a six pack of Pepsi for iirc £3.99 but as buy one get one free (so £1.995 for six). Meanwhile Morrisons were charging £1.99 for one six pack. So Morisons were half a p more expensive for a six pack BUT I only needed to buy one six pack.

What amazes me is that plenty of customers must be falling for these tricks as otherwise Sainsburys and Tescos would go bust.

MODs - I find myself wondering if a lot of the recent posts should be in the Supermarket thread - where I keep thinking we are !.

 

[Stan63]

Has anyone used the Scan as you Go machines in the supermarket? The reason I ask is because mu local Tesco has just introduced it. I was thinking about trying it on my weekly shop next Saturday.

Stan

 

[Hadders]

Has anyone used the Scan as you Go machines in the supermarket? The reason I ask is because mu local Tesco has just introduced it. I was thinking about trying it on my weekly shop next Saturday.

Stan

It's a game changer. So much faster than using a traditional checkout (whether staffed or self).

Just scan your items as you select them from the shelf and place them in your bag. WHen you get to the dedicated checkout you scan the QR code and everything is loaded up on the till. There is a system of randomised checks to make sure you've scanned everything so don't be alarmed when you get selected for one.

 

[gg1]

It's a game changer. So much faster than using a traditional checkout (whether staffed or self).

Just scan your items as you select them from the shelf and place them in your bag. WHen you get to the dedicated checkout you scan the QR code and everything is loaded up on the till. There is a system of randomised checks to make sure you've scanned everything so don't be alarmed when you get selected for one.

Seconded, I'm a big fan of them. The first time you use it you'll almost certainly get flagged for a bag check but after that you only get checked occasionally. On thing I like about it is you can see at any time the cost of all the items in your trolley so far, handy if you're on a tight budget.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Apparently Supermarkets considering easing off on encouraging self scan or are even going back to manned checkouts.

BBC news article.

What could Asda and Morrisons move away from self-checkout mean?

Supermarkets are beginning to question the divisive technology after years of criticism from shoppers.

www.bbc.co.uk

After years of encouraging shoppers to scan their own groceries, some supermarkets are checking out a move back to traditional tills.

Asda said it would put more staff on checkouts, while Morrisons admitted it might have "gone too far" with self-scan. Northern upmarket chain Booths has got rid of them altogether.

The dreaded "unexpected item in the bagging area" announcement is among a list of customer complaints about self-service tills.

too long to quote all of it.

I am a bit surprised.

I reckon Scan as You go will cater for almost all those people who are happy to self scan so maybe self scan could demise in favour of scan as you go ?. Not so sure about very small amounts of shopping - I can imagine someone not wanting to faff with a scanner for a single sandwich or bottle of wine for example.

Funnily enough my local Morrisons supermarket have just weeks ago wiped out more than 50% of their normal checkouts. Now about 75% of what is left is staffed so not really a loss for us luddites scared of error in bagging area.

 

[Hadders]

Apparently Supermarkets considering easing off on encouraging self scan or are even going back to manned checkouts.

BBC news article.

What could Asda and Morrisons move away from self-checkout mean?

Supermarkets are beginning to question the divisive technology after years of criticism from shoppers.

www.bbc.co.uk

too long to quote all of it.

I am a bit surprised.

I reckon Scan as You go will cater for almost all those people who are happy to self scan so maybe self scan could demise in favour of scan as you go ?. Not so sure about very small amounts of shopping - I can imagine someone not wanting to faff with a scanner for a single sandwich or bottle of wine for example.

Funnily enough my local Morrisons supermarket have just weeks ago wiped out more than 50% of their normal checkouts. Now about 75% of what is left is staffed so not really a loss for us luddites scared of error in bagging area.

This isn't a wholesale move back to staffed checkouts. More an admission that they've cut staffing too far when they've ripped out staffed checkouts in favour of self scan. The amount they're investing is tiny in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Stan63]

I'll definitely try it next week on my main shopping trip. I'll need to keep an eye out for tagged or age checked items.

Stan

 

[skyhigh]

Not so sure about very small amounts of shopping - I can imagine someone not wanting to faff with a scanner for a single sandwich or bottle of wine for example.

The Sainsbury's Local app model is probably the answer to that. Scan on your phone, pay on the app without having to visit a checkout and just take your stuff.

Funnily enough my local Morrisons supermarket have just weeks ago wiped out more than 50% of their normal checkouts. Now about 75% of what is left is staffed so not really a loss for us luddites scared of error in bagging area.

Same here. There was always a queue for the self checkouts while only a couple of traditional checkouts were staffed. It makes complete sense to remove a number of unused checkouts and replace them with more self checkouts, while still leaving the number of traditional staffed checkouts that were in use anyway.

For a couple of years before they were removed the end few checkouts were clearly unused anyway, with none of the normal signage or upselling junk they usually try to tempt customers with as they load the belt.

 

[Peter Sarf]

The Sainsbury's Local app model is probably the answer to that. Scan on your phone, pay on the app without having to visit a checkout and just take your stuff.

For me I might use self scan if I have one or two items but I am definitely not going to faff around setting up an app or grabbing a scanner to do scan as you go.

Same here. There was always a queue for the self checkouts while only a couple of traditional checkouts were staffed. It makes complete sense to remove a number of unused checkouts and replace them with more self checkouts, while still leaving the number of traditional staffed checkouts that were in use anyway.

For a couple of years before they were removed the end few checkouts were clearly unused anyway, with none of the normal signage or upselling junk they usually try to tempt customers with as they load the belt.

It was always the furthest manned checkouts that were manned on my Morrisons. Now there is only a choice of four and three of them are often manned - seems like more in use than there used to be !. The self checkout area is now vast and the one member of staff monitoring it cannot keep up. I have seen people waiting exasperated and then even walking off (a bit fraught with the exit barrier).

 

[gg1]

The Sainsbury's Local app model is probably the answer to that. Scan on your phone, pay on the app without having to visit a checkout and just take your stuff.

I haven't used the Sainsburys version so maybe it is better, but I have tried using the Asda scan and go app a couple of times. It's noticeably slower than using a hand scanner with a longer time lag between scanning an item and it being added to you basket.

 

[Lewisham2221]

This isn't a wholesale move back to staffed checkouts. More an admission that they've cut staffing too far when they've ripped out staffed checkouts in favour of self scan. The amount they're investing is tiny in the grand scheme of things.

For the most part they don't even need to make any physical changes, they just need to provide a staff member at the existing (largely unused) checkouts.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I appear to be on a now regular Nectar leaflet distribution list, addressed correctly to me, which has Nectar point offers on certain items I regularly purchase from them when I make a monthly visit in a neighbour's car to the Sainsburys supermarket at Cheadle Royal. Today, there was even a 70 point voucher for anything £5.50 or more purchased from the in-store cafe. For that exact price, there is a cooked breakfast with an egg, two sausages, two rashers of bacon, a large field mushroom, a half of a large tomato, a hash brown. a large portion of baked beans and thick seeded toast. There was a voucher for £7.50 off a £50.00 supermarket spend and another for triple nectar points if over £60.00 was spent, which could be used in conjunction with the £50.00 voucher.

 

[Hadders]

I haven't used the Sainsburys version so maybe it is better, but I have tried using the Asda scan and go app a couple of times. It's noticeably slower than using a hand scanner with a longer time lag between scanning an item and it being added to you basket.

One of the issues using the app rather than a handset is you’re reliant on the mobile phone network and phone networks are notoriously poor in buildings with metal roofs and with lots of metal equipment like shelving and refrigeration inside them!

Most stores provide free wifi so I’d recommend connecting to that as it should speed things up.

 

[jon81uk]

If I have a big shop to do, I go to a staffed checkout. I unload my shopping at one end and pack it at the other, while someone else scans the shopping. All I have to do at the end is present my preferred payment method; so easy!

Might be “easy” but not efficient, I only handle each item once, pick it from the shelf, scan with handset and into my bag. Using a staffed checkout you go from shelf to trolley to conveyor to cashier to bag. A lot more work bending and picking items up and down to and from the trolley multiple times.