PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
Sainsbury’s is stepping back from high-ticket ‘less profitable’ electrical items listed on its website.
The grocer said it will instead place a greater focus on categories like cookware and kitchen electricals, and scale back on items like TVs and computers.
“Our general merchandise website offers thousands of own-brand and branded products across home, garden, appliances, technology, toys, sports and leisure,” Sainsbury’s said in a statement.
“We are continuing to rebalance the online product mix, focusing on categories such as cookware and kitchen electricals, away from high-ticket, less profitable electrical items.”
It added that more than half of its customers collect their orders in-store via its Click & Collect service.
Last year Tesco announced it planned to ‘scale back’ from tech, but later in the year ended up launching its own tablet. It still sells other laptops and tech products, but not as much as it did prior to the change.
“The non-food markets in which we operate have seen stronger volume and value growth in the last year and we expect these markets to be more buoyant as the economy returns to growth,” Sainsbury’s added in a statement.
“In contrast to food retailing, the recession and the growth of online shopping have led to a reduction in the number of physical outlets in many non-food areas. This increases the attractiveness of supermarkets that offer a wide selection of non-food ranges which are convenient to purchase alongside the supermarket shop.”
The news comes after Sainsbury’s announced a 5.3 per cent increase in underlying profit before tax to £798 million for the year ending March 15th 2014.
Sainsbury’s has a 16.8 per cent share of the UK supermarket sector.
