Big Four need to think radically to stand out from the pack, says retail expert

Following comments from Waitrose boss Mark Price that supermarkets are years out of date, retail expert Professor Heiner Evanschitzky, Professor of Marketing at Aston Business School, is warning that Britain’s Big Four supermarkets – Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons – must update their business models, or else be overtaken by the discounters.

Professor Evanschitzky commented:

“The Big Four are rightly focused on smaller stores to match Britain’s changing shopping habits. The days of the weekly shop are long gone – nowadays we are more likely to grab what we need, when we need it, often from smaller, convenience-style stores. Tesco and Sainsburys led the way in opening these smaller stores, but now others are following suit. With competition hotting up, the Big Four need to do more to stand out and get close to the discounters snapping at their heels.”

“Supermarkets need to strategically locate their smaller stores close to customers and – perhaps paradoxically – close to their competitors. The Big Four should for instance look at opening smaller stores next to Aldi supermarkets, focusing on a complementary range of products that consumers will buy as ‘treats’ after their cheaper discount shop.”

“Looking ahead, retailers could and should go even further, looking at retail innovation in regions such as Asia.  In South Korea, ‘virtual shelves’ projected onto train station walls, allowing shoppers to simply click on the products they want with their phone, and by the time they are home, their shopping is there. This type of customer-focused, tech-savvy innovation is what the Big Four should be focusing on – not the price war that simply confuses and irritates consumers and suppliers.”