The Tesco & other non-Morrisons supermarket thread

[WillPS]

wtf is this?

[all new Phil]

That one board in isolation looks a mess but the individual elements around the store look quite nice. I’d say though that they’re trying to pitch to multiple audiences at once which for Waitrose is a bigger challenge than for most supermarkets - your traditional poshos but also the cozzie livs crowd. Other supermarkets can just go for the latter but Waitrose need to focus on the former too as that’s the core.

Not sure how big a deal it is btw but Waitrose / JL have just signed Saatchi & Saatchi up to do all their marketing, including Christmas ads.

[Zimba]

I never really understand why Waitrose even try to push prices, people shopping in there are very unlikely shopping there because it's cheap.

They should focus on their quality like M&S do imo with marketing and push their Waitrose Essentials range as cheap as the rest but much better quality - which it is imo. That just looks out of place and appeals to no-one.

[Pete]

I am hazarding a guess we're getting a pharmacy at the big Tesco to replace the counters. It's one of those Tescos where the counters are in the middle of the store and the bit they've sealed off includes the brand new Yo Sushi counter so not sure if thats being moved elsewhere or closed.

[all new Phil]

I never really understand why Waitrose even try to push prices, people shopping in there are very unlikely shopping there because it's cheap.

Because they’re losing a hell of a lot of customers to their (cheaper) rivals.

[Critique]

A load of the Tescos near me have got new self service tills recently and for some reason, they seem to be the worst for scanning barcodes (a quite essential task) that I’ve used since the very first self-checkouts came on the scene! It often takes me multiple attempts to scan a barcode now and it is nigh-on impossible to scan the Clubcard from the app. I think I’ve managed to scan my Clubcard from the app just the once, and unlike at Sainsbury’s you don’t seem to be able to just key in your Clubcard number if it’s not scanning properly like you can with Nectar .

I know old self-service tills couldn’t scan stuff from a screen but most have been capable of it for years now, so it seems very strange that new tills have managed to go backwards as far as their capabilities are concerned.

[Zimba]

I never really understand why Waitrose even try to push prices, people shopping in there are very unlikely shopping there because it's cheap.

Because they’re losing a hell of a lot of customers to their (cheaper) rivals.

Aye I get that but surely they should be trying to be unique in some form of way, the UK is really lacking a supermarket like our European friends which focus on quality and counters etc. Dunnes Stores in Ireland really nail their supermarkets with fresh counters and bread and stuff - not the same stuff on the counters as you can buy from a pack like over here.

If you're going to Waitrose because 'it's cheap' then you're in the wrong shop imo but lately it's a bit lost as it's just a more expensive Tesco half the time.

- Dunnes Stores food hall btw.

[all new Phil]

You’re missing the point about Waitrose. Their ad campaign about lowering prices isn’t primarily about attracting new customers, it’s about stopping them losing existing ones.

They still make a point of having the highest animal welfare standards, and still maintain counter services where others are cutting back.

Waitrose shoppers aren’t immune to the cost of living - as a demographic that is more likely to have a mortgage, if anything they’re exposed to it the most right now. If mortgage payments go up sharply you cut back elsewhere, and shopping is the obvious place to start.

[scottishtv]

I noticed that M&S Foodhall have replaced plastic carrier bags with paper ones now. I've not tried them as I brought my own plastic 'bags for life' that I've been using for ages.

I'm not against the change, but I guess I won't get new plastic bags when my 'bags for life' wear out now - which would be a shame as I don't think the paper ones will last as long.

Starting to think the whole 'for life' bit has been quietly phased out in a lot of places. That said, given the number of people walking out with new paper bags it did make me realise how few were reusing their old ones in the first place.

Presumably someone somewhere has done a calculation on the environmental impact.

[Charlie Wells]

It's interesting to see the Tesco Value branding making an appearance on clothes. One of their latest offer leaflet also seems to have adopted this old-style look.

In some respects it's slightly surprising that the Tesco Value (or the latter Tesco Everyday Value) hasn't make a return to their food products. Given that more people are switching to cheaper brands due to the cost of living it might be helpful to signpost the cheaper brands (as per Sainsburys etc.) instead of disguise them as Lidl and Aldi does. I noticed an article recently about Tescos starting to stock more of their own brands in the Express stores in response to changing buying habits.

On a different note I wish they roll out an equivalent of Sainsbury's SmartShop app as an alternative to using the handheld scanners in Tesco.

Longer term I wonder if they may end up rolling out GetGo to more Express stores. Presumably the additional cameras might help deter some shoplifters. It's interesting in the three more recent stores GetGo was rolled out to they also provide the alternative of self-service and attended checkouts.

[JAS84]

The Asda in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland was destroyed last month by flooding. They're having to demolish it and rebuild.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-67686538