Asda reports 4.7% increase in Q3 like-for-like sales compared to year-ago period, with total revenues excluding fuel at £5.2B; more than 400,000 shoppers switched to Asda during the quarter from more expensive supermarkets, company says

November 14, 2022 (press release) –

Asda has updated investors on its Q3 trading performance (Jul-Sept) and reaffirmed its commitment to supporting families during the cost of living crisis. The supermarket’s investments to drive value during the quarter resulted in a 4.7% increase in like-for-like sales when compared to the same period last year, while total revenues excluding fuel were £5.2 bn.With the latest Asda Income Tracker showing that the average UK household was £432 worse off across the quarter compared to a year earlier, Asda redoubled its value initiatives to help customers make their money go further.

Key Highlights:

* Designed to keep households running on the tightest of budgets, Just Essentials is a popular choice for customers, with more than 10 million shopping the range during the quarter and was crowned ‘Best Own Label Range’ by the prestigious Q Awards this week.

* Around 70% spend on the range is from new customers and more than 400k shoppers switched to Asda during the quarter from more expensive supermarkets.

* Asda also continued its ‘Dropped & Locked’ pricing initiative, where 250 family favourite products are locked in price for the rest of the year to give customers more certainty over their shopping bills.

* The ‘Kids eat for £1’ offer is available in all 205 cafes across the UK until the end of the year and gives children aged 16 and under the chance to have a hot meal whenever the café is open with no minimum adult spend.

* Building on the impact of ‘Kids eat for £1’, Asda also launched its ‘Winter Warmers’ offer in cafes earlier this month, offering customers aged over 60 the chance to enjoy soup, a roll and unlimited brews for just £1.

Original Press Release:

Nov. 11 -- ASDA issued the following news release:

- Q3 like-for-like sales +4.7% representing the strongest quarterly performance since Q1 2021



- Just Essentials value range helps to attract 400k new shoppers from other supermarkets



- Asda continues to invest to help families manage rising living costs and is on course to serve one million ‘Kids eat for £1’ meals before the end of the year



Asda has today updated investors on its Q3 trading performance (Jul-Sept) and reaffirmed its commitment to supporting families during the cost of living crisis.



The supermarket’s investments to drive value during the quarter resulted in a 4.7% increase in like-for-like sales when compared to the same period last year, while total revenues excluding fuel were £5.2 bn.



Delivering value every day



With the latest Asda Income Tracker showing that the average UK household was £432 worse off across the quarter compared to a year earlier, Asda redoubled its value initiatives to help customers make their money go further.



This included rolling out 141 new budget-friendly Just Essentials products, including popular cupboard staples such as rice, pasta, tinned tomatoes and tuna, increasing the total number of products available in the range to 270.



Designed to keep households running on the tightest of budgets, Just Essentials is a popular choice for customers, with more than 10 million shopping the range during the quarter[*] and was crowned ‘Best Own Label Range’ by the prestigious Q Awards this week.



The great value for money offered by the Just Essentials range has been a key driver in attracting new shoppers to Asda. Around 70% spend on the range is from new customers and more than 400k shoppers switched to Asda during the quarter from more expensive supermarkets.[**]



Asda also continued its ‘Dropped & Locked’ pricing initiative, where 250 family favourite products are locked in price for the rest of the year to give customers more certainty over their shopping bills.



During the quarter, Asda also refreshed its bakery, meat, fish and poultry categories, adding over 100 new lines at different price points to suit all customer budgets. This has resulted in a 15.5% uplift in bakery sales year-on-year and 6.4% increase in meat, fish and poultry sales.



To give customers even more value when they shop, Asda rolled out its new Asda Rewards loyalty programme to all stores and online during the quarter following a series of successful regional trials. The app, which rewards customers with pounds off at the checkout rather than points, has 2.7m active users.



Mohsin Issa , Asda’s co-owner, said: “The financial pressures on families across the UK is worsening and they are looking to us for help. Asda has a long-standing reputation for providing customers with outstanding value and it’s more important than ever that we deliver on this for them. We’re absolutely committed to ensuring that Asda remains the best value traditional supermarket - while introducing new value initiatives such as Asda Rewards that can make an immediate difference to customer budgets.”



Supporting our communities



With customers and community groups across the UK struggling to manage rising living costs, Asda has introduced a number of new initiatives to provide additional support.



The ‘Kids eat for £1’ offer is available in all 205 cafes across the UK until the end of the year and gives children aged 16 and under the chance to have a hot meal whenever the café is open with no minimum adult spend. Since launching in late June, over 750,000 hot meals have been served to kids, supporting thousands of families.



Building on the impact of ‘Kids eat for £1’, Asda also launched its ‘Winter Warmers’ offer in cafes earlier this month, offering customers aged over 60 the chance to enjoy soup, a roll and unlimited brews for just £1. The supermarket stepped up its support for this group as they continue to be disproportionately impacted by the cost-of-living crisis and served 19,000 meals so far.



Mohsin Issa , said: “Our stores are proud to be part of the communities they serve and we know there is a real need to provide whatever additional support we can to customers and community groups. We expect to serve over one million Kids eat for £1 meals before the end of the year and we hope the Winter Warmers offer for the over 60s is just as impactful for those who need it the most.”



Creating more convenient ways to shop



During the quarter, Asda stepped up its plans to enter the convenience retail market and bring Asda value to more local communities, with the acquisition of 129 convenience stores and attached petrol stations from the Co-op Group for a cash value of £438m. Although the sale has now formally completed, and Asda owns the sites, the deal remains subject to normal regulatory approval.



In addition, Asda has this week launched its first standalone convenience store under the new ‘Asda Express’ brand. The store, which has opened at Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands , stocks a comprehensive range of 3,000 products, with a focus on ‘food for now’ ‘food for tonight’ and top up shops. A second ‘Asda Express’ will open at Tottenham Hale before Christmas, with a further 30 stores planned in residential and neighbourhood locations next year.



Mohsin Issa said: “Although we have more the 600 stores across the UK , there are still many communities that don’t have an Asda nearby. We want to change this and bring Asda’s great products and value to even more people through these new stores.”



Christmas



The supermarket has also invested in quality for the festive season, launching 740 new Christmas products, including 100 vegan and ‘Free From’ lines. Four Asda products have been rated ‘Best Buys’ by Good Housekeeping in its annual Christmas taste test, including the Maple Pigs in Blankets – which also feature in Asda’s ‘viral’ new festive ad featuring Buddy the Elf.



With just over six-weeks to Christmas day , Asda is stepping up its seasonal preparations to make sure its stores and depots are well stocked – prioritising additional hours for its existing colleagues and recruiting up to 6,000 temporary colleagues to serve customers during the busy festive period.



The supermarket has also boosted its online delivery capacity this year and will have more than one million home delivery and click & collect slots available the week before Christmas, including deliveries on Christmas Eve for the first time.



Footnotes:



[*] Kantar Worldpanel data 12-weeks to October 2nd 2022



[**] Kantar Worldpanel data 12-weeks to October 2nd 2022

Source: ASDA

[Category: Retail, Financial Results]

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