Kantar Retail has said that Walmart-owned UK retailer Asda will need to embrace omnichannel in a manner similar to that of its rivals if it wants to turnaround its operations.
Yesterday, Asda's parent Walmart announced that its UK division saw 0.9% sales growth in the first quarter of its 2017/18 financial year, with like-for-like sales down 2.8%.
Customer Loyalty
Derya Yildiz, Senior Analyst Kantar Retail says that Asda "faces several challenges in an age where customer loyalty is difficult to win. Asda wants to clearly differentiate by being the destination for value-seeking busy customers but achieving this will not be easy and will come primarily through uncovering omnichannel habits of these target shoppers."
Yildiz added that the retailer "will look to build partnerships with other service providers following a similar approach to Morrisons in its tie-ups with Timpsons, Doddle, and Amazon. The benefit in Asda’s new approach for UK workers is easy to see. This means new opportunities for staff. Asda is planning to introduce higher pay for worker who accept more flexibility in working hours."
In addition, the retailer will look to benefit from its positive relations with suppliers. "One of the key weapons that Walmart will look to use in the upcoming period is positive relations with suppliers," said Yildiz.
"The launch of Walmart Exchange in the UK, a shopper data sharing platform for suppliers, may help suppliers maximise growth and profits by doing things that only Asda can do such as catering to diverse demographics in value shopper segments of the UK."
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
