Quad’s Post

Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO)'s share price was up 3% after it said its food retail partnership with Marks & Spencer had maintained its annual guidance while reporting a 10.6% rise in first-quarter revenue, boosted by an increase in customer numbers. The 13 weeks to March 3 saw retail revenue hitting £645.3 million with active customers growing by 6.4% to 1.02 million, alongside an 8.1% increase in total items sold. Ocado Retail CEO Hannah Gibson said the shopping offering was "resonating well" with customers.   Looking ahead, the tone was optimistic with the retailer projecting "mid-high single digits per cent" revenue growth for the full year. Clive Black, the respected retail analyst at Shore Capital, seems to have become somewhat jaded by the Ocado story,  one that has seen it make consistent losses over the "best part of 25 years". More at #Proactive #ProactiveInvestors #ocado #foodretailer #supermarket http://ow.ly/6Kp3105nny1

A huge amount has been written about the difficulty and cost of #ecommerce in the #grocery vertical. But there are two sides to every story... Certainly, lessons in sheer cost and complexity of online selling are there to be learned from brands in every sector. As Instacart's Rob Hill commented last year, "...a few friction points still exist... if you don’t have a solid ordering system in place, it becomes tough to digitize the whole in-store fulfillment process." This week, PYMNTS reports (link in comments) that Kroger, Ahold Delhaize and others have decided slow down or scale back ecommerce for similar reasons. On the other hand... Aldi, Tesco and co. are building out media networks which Boston Consulting Group (BCG) could produce 70-90% margins - which George Nott rightly describes as an "an incredibly attractive figure for supermarkets more used to razor-thin profits on product sales." For at least a decade, supermarkets have arguably been divided by the 'extra' work they do on top of product sales: financial services, QSR, loyalty programs etc - leveraging sheer scale as a pathway to more profitable forms of trade. Grocers: shy away from ecommerce at your peril. #retailmedianetworks, "...leveraged correctly, could offer brands unprecedented scale in their activations" (Samuel Knights). A brighter future by far awaits brands brave enough to ride out the bumps in the road. https://lnkd.in/e-FQNaHp

Ocado Retail Ltd celebrates strong Q1 performance: Sales surge and customer base expands. In an impressive start to the year, Ocado Retail, the pioneering joint venture between the UK online grocery service Ocado and the esteemed retailer Marks and Spencer, has announced remarkable growth in both its sales and customer numbers for the first quarter. Demonstrating its commitment to value and quality, the company reported a notable 10.6% increase in revenue during the period, alongside a significant growth in its active customer base, which has risen by 6.4% to surpass the one million mark. This growth comes at a time when Ocado Retail has been proactively responding to the cost-of-living crisis affecting households across the UK. In a strategic move to support its customers, the company implemented price reductions on 1,700 items throughout the quarter, which ended on March 3. These price adjustments are part of Ocado Retail's broader strategy to offer competitive pricing and exceptional value, ensuring customers can access high-quality goods at more affordable prices. Furthermore, Ocado Retail's efforts have resulted in the company's average price growth remaining significantly below the national grocery inflation rate. A recent report by Kantar highlighted that while the national grocery inflation rate stood at 4.5%, Ocado Retail managed to keep its average price growth to less than half of this figure. This achievement underscores the company's dedication to maintaining affordable pricing for its customers, even in the face of rising inflationary pressures. Ocado Retail's Q1 performance not only reflects its operational excellence and customer-centric approach but also sets a positive tone for its business outlook in the upcoming quarters. As the company continues to innovate and adapt to the changing market dynamics, it remains committed to delivering exceptional value and service to its growing customer base. The strong start to the year is a testament to Ocado Retail's resilience and strategic foresight. #OcadoRetail #Q1Performance #SalesGrowth #CustomerGrowth #OnlineGrocery #PriceReduction #InflationResponse #ValueShopping #UKRetail #EcommerceSuccess #RetailInnovation #MarketTrends #retail

Loyalty programs have made an undeniable reemergence across the #grocery retail landscape – in fact, the latest Advantage Solutions Outlook survey shows that 50% of retailers will lean into their loyalty programs as a top strategy to drive unit volume growth. But are these programs enough for midsize retailers to compete against giants like Walmart and Amazon? Thomas Weinandy for Progressive Grocer says perhaps not.   Thought this was a sharp piece exploring the limitations of conventional #loyaltyprograms, offering strategies beyond loyalty that can help retailers differentiate themselves in the market. Read the full article here:    #RetailStrategy #GroceryRetail #AdvantageOutlook   https://lnkd.in/gFnu7cnc

Looked at through almost any lens, Walmart is defined by large numbers — from its more than 5,000 supercenters and 1 million-plus associates in the U.S. to the over 120,000 items its stores typically carry. So when the nation’s biggest retailer decides to do something at scale, the impact can reverberate well beyond the company’s own operations. Walmart’s recent announcement that it plans to bring electronic shelf labels to 2,300 stores by 2026 is a case in point. While a small but growing number of grocers, including Schnuck Markets, Inc. and Good Food Holdings, LLC, have embraced ESLs, most U.S. supermarkets continue to rely on the tedious process of affixing paper tags to shelves. But as Walmart begins to reap the rewards of freeing its workers from having to manually update prices, other grocers are bound to take notice of the benefits that come with digitizing a traditionally analog task.

3 Reasons we focus on grocery anchored retail 👊 • Grocery Anchored Retail should remain resilient to impact of e-commerce • Grocery Anchored Retail will deliver stable returns through adverse economic environments (everyone needs to buy food, right 🤷♀️) • Grocery Anchored Retail brings traffic to all other other tenants

The evolving landscape of grocery shopping trends, such as the increasing demand for online grocery delivery and curbside pickup services, is significantly impacting the trucking industry. With more consumers opting for convenience and efficiency in their shopping experience, trucking companies optimizing their transportation networks to meet the growing demand for timely and reliable delivery of grocery goods. Check out this article from Grocery Dive to learn more. #supplychain #foodlogistics https://lnkd.in/g9eH_YG4

“Widespread adoption of digital price tags appears poised to enable large grocery stores to squeeze consumers to increase profits.” Having just returned from Paris, I can report that virtually every grocery chain has “widespread adoption” of #ESLs. And no signs of price squeezing. This is the sequel to the #WendysSurgePricing uproar from earlier this year. And hopefully will fizzle out just as quickly. https://lnkd.in/ec9V8sha

The Top Retailers in the World, by Store Count . Which retail chains have the highest global store counts? Owing to their rapid speed of service in providing the basics to customers, convenience chains stand as the clear leaders. Going further, their smaller footprint allows them to expand their store counts at a greater scale. This graphic shows the top retailers in the world by store count, based on data from the National Retailers Federation.

Why is grocery M&A outpacing the rest of the #retail industry? 🛒 In 2023, the grocery business experienced larger gains in M&A value and volume compared to the retail sector as a whole. Learn more: https://atbain.co/4bOhFUF