Asda to improve in-store shopping experience after drop in second quarter sales
Asda has reported a drop in second quarter sales as it announced wide-ranging plans to deliver an improved in-store shopping experience for the rest of the year.
When fuel was excluded, total revenue fell by 2.2% to £5.3 billion while like-for-like sales declined by 5.3%.
Unprecedented period of transformation
The supermarket said the drop in sales has come during an unprecedented period of transformation for the business as it works to build a “bigger and better” Asda.
Michael Gleeson, Asda chief financial officer at Asda, said: “We continue to make progress by investing in bringing our quality and value offering to more customers across the UK, with Asda’s food price inflation trending lower than the market.
“We have made great progress over the last few years in transforming Asda into a diversified retail group, much of which is almost complete.
“However, we also know that there are some areas where we can and need to improve. We have today set out clear and decisive action to deliver a more consistent customer experience – to match the uncompromising value we offer.”
In-store availability
The supermarket is now working to improve availability across all categories, including 1,000 core grocery lines most important to customers. This will include delivering material efficiencies to make replenishment processes easier.
In addition, it is investing an additional £30 million in colleague hours, which Asda said will increase the number of team members on checkouts at the weekend, address replenishment issues, and help to provide a more effective cleaning programme.
During the second quarter, Asda began a £50 million store upgrade programme across 171 stores.
Despite the overall decline in sales, the supermarket increased its online grocery sales in the period by 1.4%. Fashion sales at George.com were also up, rising by 3.9%.
Mohsin Issa, Asda’s co-owner, said: “These results highlight a period of robust online performance and a record start to George’s Back-to-School campaign.
“Despite a challenging retail environment, George.com sales rose by 3.9% and online grocery increased by 1.4%, underscoring our steadfast commitment to delivering quality and value to our customers. Asda Rewards continues to go from strength-to-strength and now accounts for 52% participation in all transactions.
“As we move forward, we remain committed to maintaining our value credentials, enhancing the product offer, and executing our long-term growth strategy to build an even stronger Asda for our customers and communities.”
