A new retail app has commissioned a study to identify the main consumer gripes with the UK’s supermarkets, after figures revealed that the so-called “big four” saw sales decline by as much as 5.5% in the last three months.
The research from Kantar Worldpanel, published at the end of August, showed that Morrisons’ sales were 1.8% lower this year than in 2015. Asda lost the most ground, with sales falling 5.5%. In contrast, discounters Lidl and Aldi enjoyed growth of 12.2% and 10.4% respectively.
But now, Ubamarket, which orders users’ shopping lists based on where the products are in store, has surveyed more than 2,000 UK consumers to uncover their biggest misgivings about the mainstream supermarkets. The findings show that 30% of Britons regard grocery shopping as “one of the most inconvenient things they have to do”, while 28% said that it was their least favourite shopping experience.
In total, 66% of respondents were dissatisfied with aspects of the in-store supermarket shopping experience, rising to 72% of those aged 18-34.
The main grievances people had with shopping in supermarkets were long queues (35% of people, rising to 44% in London); buying items that they don’t need or already have at home (19%, rising to 26% among younger Britons); and struggling to find items on shelves (15%).
Online food shopping did not fare any better, with 71% of UK adults who buy food online expressing frustrations with the experience – and in particular with not being able to select their own fresh produce (38%), receiving unwanted replacement items (29%) and receiving poor-quality items (18%).
In response to the research, Ubamarket has developed an app that rearranges the user’s shopping list according to their location in store, tracking each item in order of convenience, total spend, special offers and loyalty points. The iOS app, built by end-to-end mobility solutions specialist DMI, empowers shoppers by making in-store shopping faster, more cost-efficient and quicker, Ubamarket claimed.
It is due for a UK roll-out next week in association with payment and loyalty solutions supplier Htec.
Ubamarket founder and CEO Will Broome said: “We as consumers are more demanding than ever. We want great produce, but we want convenience. Where the time-consuming nature of shopping in store has let us down, so has online shopping, as we are unable to select the produce that we’ve become so discerning about. We’ve placed so much emphasis on e-commerce as the proverbial nail in the coffin of the high-street and shopping in store, however I hope Ubamarket will be the saviour of the supermarket, and streamline our shopping experience, whilst boosting the footfall for retailers.
“I’m thrilled that Warner’s Budgens is the first to implement Ubamarket, because we need to empower great British retailers like this. I want consumers to enjoy their shopping experience again and to champion bricks-and-mortar retail businesses.”
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