Sainsbury's says it is receiving more than 165,000 online grocery orders per week, resulting in more than £750M in annual sales, making retailer second-largest U.K. online grocer

Cindy Allen

LONDON , March 12, 2012 (press release) – Sainsbury's today revealed that its online grocery orders are exceeding 165,000 a week, resulting in an annualised turnover of over £750m positioning the retailer second in the UK market.

The 20 per cent year on year rise in orders a week, makes Sainsbury's the fastest growing online grocery business and has been driven by industry leading customer service. This was demonstrated by a new Ipsos Mori study on online customer service,* commissioned by Sainsbury's, which showed Sainsbury's industry-leading position across the key service measures of:

Quality of products
Availability of delivery slots
Customer service from the delivery person
Speed of placing an order
Contact centre staff

Accessed via Sainsburys.co.uk, groceries are hand-picked by colleagues in nearby Sainsbury's stores, reducing the distances drivers travel to customers' homes and therefore food miles. The company's 3,000 delivery drivers also have dedicated training with a sharp focus on customer service.

Jon Rudoe, Director of Online, Sainsbury's said: "Thousands of new customers are choosing Sainsburys.co.uk each week because it's simple to use and like our stores, people are assured of the service they'll receive.

"We're proud of our successes so far, but it doesn't stop here, we've got ambitious growth targets which we'll reach by continuing to deliver the best possible experience for our loyal and new customers."

In addition to groceries, Sainsbury's also has a fast-growing general merchandise site including home and garden, appliances, technology, toys, games and sports and leisure products, as well as a new entertainment site.

Growing numbers of shoppers are also taking advantage of Sainsbury's market leading Click & Collect service. Sainsbury's offers the largest number of Click & Collect points, now available in over 900 supermarkets and convenience stores, allowing customers to place general merchandise orders online by 2pm for next day delivery from the store of their choice.

General merchandise online now offers more than 10,000 products, spanning everything from cookware to entertainment. Top brands including Apple, Le Creuset and Sony can all be purchased online.

Notes to editors

Quality of products

1st - Sainsbury's
2nd - Asda
Joint 3rd - Ocado
Joint 3rd - Tesco

Availability of delivery slots

1st - Sainsbury's
2nd - Tesco
3rd - Asda
4th - Ocado

Customer service from the delivery person

1st - Sainsbury's
2nd - Tesco
3rd - Asda
4th - Ocado

Speed of placing an order

1st - Sainsbury's
2nd- Tesco
3rd- Asda
4th- Ocado

Contact centre staff

1st - Sainsbury's
2nd - Asda
3rd - Tesco
4th - Ocado

* Ipsos Mori - 1912 online interviews were conducted by Ipsos MORI between 14 February 2012 - 21 February 2012 with a sample of GB online grocery customers aged 16+. Sainsbury's supplied a sample of 912 of its customers and 1,000 were customers of other supermarkets sourced through online panels including Tesco: N=400, Asda: N=400 and Ocado: N=200.

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