Lots of interesting news about supermarkets over the last week have grabbed my attention.
One piece is about how customer perception of the value offered by Tesco has plummeted in the past year. This is despite its aggressive price based marketing strategy to appeal to customers feeling the effect of the economic squeeze. YouGov’s Brand Index Score, which measures how customers rate the brand in terms of impression, quality, value, reputation, satisfaction and whether they would recommend it, has suffered the biggest fall of the Big Four supermarkets in the past 12 months.
It seems clear then that even in an economic downturn, customers want more than just competitive prices. Our recently released spaceID research on the big six supermarkets demonstrates this is the case. It shows that each supermarket must deliver on shoppers desires around ‘community’ and ‘pleasure’.
This research is one reason why I was so pleased to read Mary Portas report on the roles that large retailers can play in facilitating local communities. But what I find really interesting is that some supermarkets are already doing this. Morrisons has just opened a store in St Albans that it says is one of a new breed of Morrisons stores dedicated to delivering to the specific needs of people living locally. Even over the last day or so, local papers have given examples of Sainsbury’s working with local schools and sports clubs to raise money and give away Christmas gifts.
It seems there is a discrepancy between what some supermarkets are doing to facilitate communities, and the image they actually have. If I were working at one of these supermarkets, I would be escalating working with local communities, and I would shout a little more loudly about it.
If supermarkets REALLY want to act responsibly to communities nationwide they would keep out of already happy, thriving and cohesive communities which have good shopping facilities well established in their centre. There is one such example a few miles from my home. Easingwold in North Yorkshire is a small market town with shops around the attractive market place. It has an excellent greengrocer and delicatessen, butcher and baker as well as pharmacy, newsagent,hardwear store and electrical shop, and 2 small Co-operative stores..... plus a few specialist retailers.All are reasonably priced and friendly. It attracts new residents because of its rare qualities which combined with a good bus service to York with its wider facilities 13 miles away, and good local schools, doctors and leisure centre and cafes, make it a very desirable place to live for all age groups. People can easily walk into the town centre to shop, meet with friends and chat in the square, on seats or in cafes, as do school children on their way home.
But a supermarket chain wishes to threaten the livelihoods of the local shopkeepers by building a new store on the edge of town. If the small shops decline then a huge part of what makes it such a special place will be lost. Like many others I've spoken to I find shopping there a delightful experience, not the soul less one of supermarket trudging I hope the councillors and those in the local planning department responsible for considering the application by the supermarket for permission to build will take heed: see further than their nose ends and protect what is now there, but so easily gone tomorrow
It's interesting you mention the Morrisons store in St. Albans. I live a stones throw from it and the thing that saddens me is that it is in an area where there are lots of small ethnic stores selling fresh produce that now look like they are struggling to make ends meet. St. Albans also has a great market twice a week and I can imagine that it is having an affect on sales there. A Tesco Express store has also recently opened up the road, taking sales from lottery and cigarette sales from newsagents and local shops that they depend on to survive.
I know these stores produce much needed jobs, mainly for the young people in the community, but more needs to be done to protect the small businesses. The major retailers are already too big, and with the huge economies of scale they get from the distribution, no-one else can compete, which is why Ocado will soon be gobbled up by the highest bidder - most likely Morrisons.
For me, Booths is a great example of how a large family business can serve a community without destroying the local markets as it's where they source almost most of its products from, I just hope they don't sell out like the other supermarkets did so long ago.
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