Sainsbury's, one of the UK's largest supermarket chains, has decided to close its deli counters as part of its attempt to scale down its operations in response to the changing consumer environment.
The company said that its meat, fish, and deli counters will no longer be available starting next week. It added that the move should allow it to reduce waste and make its stores easier to run. Sainsbury's assured consumers that sections such as its pizza, patisseries, and its bakery services will still be available.
"The pandemic has accelerated a change in our customers' shopping habits and we are adapting to meet those needs," a Sainsbury representative had said in a recent interview.
During its latest earnings call, Sainsbury's chief executive officer, Simon Roberts, said that it has seen a significant decline in consumers visiting its physical stores. He added that most of its loyal customers are now opting to buy their groceries online. Over a 28-week period ending Sept. 19, the company reported a 17% increase in online orders, Roberts said.
In response to the increase, Sainsbury's has been gradually increasing its online capacity. Since the start of the pandemic, the company said that it had more than doubled its online capacity, allowing it to serve more than 700,000 grocery orders per week. In its latest quarterly report, the company said that online groceries now account for about 17% of its total sales.
Apart from Sainsbury's, grocery store chains around the world have also started to adapt to the new business model. Analysts say that the shift to digital shopping could last longer than expected, even after the disease is eradicated. In the U.S., supermarket operators such as Whole Foods, Sam's Club, and Kroger have expanded their online capacity to meet surging demand for online grocery shopping.
Sainsbury's local rival Marks & Spencer announced Wednesday that it had been forced to accelerate its plans to digitize its business. It said that it had to find ways to implement three years' worth of changes in just a few months. This included the forging of new partnerships to automate its deliveries and enhance its logistics capabilities.
