Sainsbury online grocery sales top £1bn
Its online business served more than 190,000 customers every week with annual sales growth of over 16% per year.
Jon Rudoe, Sainsbury’s director of online, digital and cross-channel, said the retailer’s online sales had gone from strength to strength in recent years.
‘Hitting £1bn sales’
“Hitting £1bn in sales is a great testament to the dedication to our colleagues who always go the extra mile to deliver outstanding service for our customers,” said Rudoe.
“We’re confident there is still a huge amount of potential for growth as our online grocery operation continues to complement our core supermarket business.
“Customers love the choice of shopping different channels at Sainsbury’s, and they reward us with their loyalty in store and online.”
More than 10,000 staff
Since its launch 14 years ago, Sainsbury’s online grocery business has grown to employ more than 10,000 staff – either in-store or as drivers – operating out of 214 stores across the country.
About 96% of UK postcodes fall within its delivery area and drivers travelled 43M miles last year to deliver more than 10.5M items every week, said the retailer.
To mark the sales total, Sainsbury said it planned to temporarily increase staff discount to 20%.
Meanwhile, in August Tesco received planning permission for an internet food shopping distribution centre in Oxfordshire that will create up to 750 jobs.
Sainsbury’s Online
September 2013 – online yearly sales top £1bn
October 2012 – trial of Mobile Scan & Go technology that enables customers to scan items as they shop using their iPhone or Android phone and pay without unloading their trolley or basket at the till
August 2012 – licensed Rovi Corporation to power a new digital video service for Sainsbury’s entertainment offering video on demand and other services
June 2012 – acquired majority stake in Anobii, a social network and retailer of e-books
May 2012 – launched MP3 music download service, giving customers access to more than 2.3M tracks and albums.
October 2011 – acquired online entertainment company Global Media Vault to support its drive into the growing online and digital entertainment market
1999 – launch of online grocery business
