Sainsbury’s has on Friday announced that its convenience stores have achieved sales of £3 billion for the first time.
Sales in Sainsbury’s convenience business, which comprises over 800 stores across the UK, grew 10 per cent year-on-year in the financial year to date and are up 7 per cent on pre-pandemic levels.
The figures also show that there have been over 45 million more customer visits to Sainsbury’s Locals in last year, an increase of 12 per cent, driven by more people returning to the workplace and wanting the flexibility of being able to shop how and when they want, the supermarket said.
Over the past year, Sainsbury’s has opened 12 convenience stores and has plans to open over 20 more in the next 12 months.
The majority of Sainsbury’s convenience store estate are Locals and more than 130 of these specifically cater for busy customers looking for ‘food-on-the-move’ in urban areas. There are also nine Neighbourhood Hubs, a new format that offers the best ‘in neighbourhood’ one-stop offer, featuring product choice and community at their heart. These Hubs cater to the shift seen throughout the pandemic across customer behaviour towards longer shopping missions.
“We know how much customers value being able to shop when and how they want, particularly in the post-pandemic world,” Clo Moriarty, Sainsbury’s Retail and Digital Director, said.
“Convenience is a growing part of our business and seeing our convenience stores reach today’s £3 billion sales milestone is a huge achievement and testament to how we are delivering what customers want. I’d also like to thank our colleagues – they are at the very heart of our business and we couldn’t have achieved today’s milestone without them.”
