Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Savings and algorithms: UK supermarkets battle cost of living crisis

Savings and algorithms: UK supermarkets battle cost of living crisis

Facing the toughest economic conditions in decades, Britain's supermarkets are cutting product ranges, searching for cost savings and patrolling each other's stores to check prices and products as they try to stay one step ahead.

Like retailers across the world, UK grocers including market leader Tesco (TSCO.L) and No. 2 Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) are struggling with the soaring cost of supplies, a shortage of key products and workers, and cash-strapped consumers.

But they enter the downturn on the back of an already lengthy period of cost cutting due to fierce competition, forcing them to look for new ways to make savings while increasingly using data to predict customer reactions to change.

"I spend a lot of time in our competitors' (stores), all of the team do too, we're constantly looking at what they're doing," Sainsbury's CEO Simon Roberts told Reuters.

While passing on some price rises to customers and taking a hit to profit margins themselves, supermarkets are fighting to limit the pain for consumers on their most important lines, like fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, fish and poultry.

"They'll all be looking at their relative performance and their relative price position like never before, because that's in the end what counts, their relative position to everybody else on price," said one grocery industry veteran, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Tesco and Sainsbury's are both matching prices on key items with German-owned discounter Aldi, seen as the low-price benchmark.

Prices are rising after the war in Ukraine restricted supplies of sunflower oil and boosted wheat and animal feed prices - pushing up the cost of meat, dairy and bakery products. Soaring energy and fuel prices, as well as increased labour and transport costs, have added to the mix.

UK grocery inflation hit 8.3% in June, a 13-year high, according to market researcher Kantar, forcing shoppers to cut back and buy cheaper ranges. U.S. bank Citi said UK food price inflation could hit 20% early next year.

RANGES


One focus for supermarkets is reducing the range of products they offer, with their ability to sell multiple types of, for example, olive oil, beans or toilet roll no longer seen as a priority for customers.

While supermarkets sought simplification before, the quest for new savings means they are attacking it with renewed vigour, as focusing their buying power allows them to get better terms.

In the last year, Tesco reduced the number of lines it sold of dairy alternatives, such as oat and almond milk, by 47%, leading to a 4% improvement in availability in retained lines.

Similarly, a 19% reduction in the amount of yoghurt lines led to an 11% improvement in availability.

Privately-owned Asda said it reduced its food range by 12.5% last year, primarily by removing duplicate products. However, the introduction of more budget products meant its range has increased by 2.5% this year.

The approach fits with steps taken by French food giant Danone (DANO.PA), the world's biggest yoghurt maker, which is cutting the variety of products it sells, including the number of flavours and packaging size options.

"If you halve your range in an area then the half that you've got left instantly becomes twice as fast selling on average, assuming you haven't lost a customer on what you've discontinued," said the grocery industry veteran.

"And if you're moving from two suppliers to one supplier then your terms with that supplier can improve dramatically."

ALGORITHMS


Supermarkets can reduce ranges more effectively than in the past by using customer data and analytics to predict whether shoppers will accept an alternative brand or not.

"The role that algorithms play now in understanding the commercial model is super important," said Sainsbury's Roberts.

"We've got some more innovation but also we've trimmed certain categories as well," he said.

With Britain's supermarkets operating on margins of only around 3%, they also need to make savings across the business.

"If we're going to invest 500 million pounds on bringing prices down, or 100 million pounds this year, 200 million pounds over two years, investing in colleagues, then we have to find efficiencies," said Roberts.

Market-leader Tesco has leveraged highly publicised price matching offers and a popular "Clubcard Prices" loyalty scheme to agree good terms with suppliers, enabling it to ensure that where it has to raise prices it tries "to ensure it is a little bit less and a little bit later than the rest of the market," it says.

But tensions with some suppliers are rising. On Wednesday, U.S. food giant Kraft Heinz (KHC.O) stopped supplying some products to Tesco after the grocer resisted higher prices.

While, like Sainsbury's, Tesco has warned of a hit to profits this year, industry data shows it is consistently outperforming rivals on a sales value basis, along with discounters Aldi and Lidl.

"Our ambition is to outperform the market, we can't control the environment, which of course remains incredibly challenged and frankly looks like it's getting more challenging," CEO Ken Murphy said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Unelected PM of the UK holds an emergency meeting because a candidate got voted in… which he says is a threat to democracy…
Farmers break through police barriers in Brussels.
Ukraine Arrests Father-Son Duo In Lockbit Cybercrime Bust
US Offers $15 Million For Info On Leaders Of Cybercrime Group Lockbit
Apple warns against drying iPhones with rice
Alexei Navalny: UK sanctions Russian prison chiefs after activist's death
German economy is in 'troubled waters' - ministry
In a recent High Court hearing, the U.S. argued that Julian Assange endangered lives by releasing classified information.
Tucker Carlson says Boris Johnson wants "a million dollars, in Bitcoin or cash, from Tucker Carlson to talk about Ukraine.
Russia is rebuilding capacity to destabilize European countries, new UK report warns
EU Commission wants anti-drone defenses at Brussels HQ
Von der Leyen’s 2nd-term pitch: More military might, less climate talk
EU Investigates TikTok for Child Safety Concerns
EU Launches Probe Into TikTok Over Child Protection Under Digital Content Law
EU and UK Announce Joint Effort on Migration
Ministers Confirm Proposal to Prohibit Mobile Phone Usage in English Schools
Avdiivka - Symbol Of Ukrainian Resistance Now In Control Of Russian Troops
"Historic Step": Zelensky Signs Security Pact With Germany
"Historic Step": Zelensky Signs Security Pact With Germany
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has died at the Arctic prison colony
Tucker Carlson grocery shopping in Russia. This is so interesting.
France and Germany Struggle to Align on European Defense Strategy
‘A lot higher than we expected’: Russian arms production worries Europe’s war planners
Greece Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage and Adoption Rights
Russia "Very Close" To Creating Cancer Vaccines, Says Vladimir Putin
Hungarian Foreign Minister: Europeans will lose Europe, the Union's policy must change drastically
Microsoft says it caught hackers from China, Russia and Iran using its AI tools
US Rejects Putin's Ceasefire Offer in Ukraine
The Dangers of Wildfire Smoke and Self-Protection Strategies
A Londoner has been arrested for expressing his Christian beliefs.
Chinese Women Favor AI Boyfriends Over Humans
Greece must address role in migrant vessel disaster that killed 600: Amnesty
Google pledges 25 million euros to boost AI skills in Europe
Hungarian President Katalin Novák Steps Down Amid Pardon Controversy
Activist crashes Hillary Clinton's speech, calls her a 'war criminal.'
In El Salvador, the 'Trump of Latin America' stuns the world with a speech slamming woke policing after winning a landslide election
Trudeau reacts to Putin's mention of Canadian Parliament applauding a former Ukrainian Nazi in his interview with Tucker Carlson.
The Spanish police blocked the farmers protest. So the farmers went out and moved the police car out of the way.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy fires top Ukraine army commander
Tucker Carlson's interview with Vladimir Putin raises EU concerns
Finnish Airline, Finnair, is voluntarily weighing passengers to better estimate flight cargo weight
Russia's Economy Expands by 3.6% Due to Increased Military Spending
Ukraine MPs Vote To Permit Use Of Dead Soldiers' Sperm
German Princess Becomes First Aristocrat To Pose Naked On Playboy Cover
UK’s King Charles III diagnosed with cancer
EU's Ursula von der Leyen Confronts Farmer Protests Amid Land Policy Debates
Distinguishing Between Harmful AI Media and Positive AI-Generated Content: A Crucial Challenge for the EU
Tucker Carlson explains why he interviewed Putin
Dutch farmers are still protesting in the Netherlands against the government, following the World Economic Forum's call for 'owning nothing.'
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stands up for European farmers and says, 'Brussels is suffocating European farmers.
×