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The UK gets its first checkout-free grocery store
The days of spending your precious lunchbreak standing in line for a sandwich are increasingly numbered, as supermarket chain Sainsbury's has launched the UK's first ever till-free grocery store. The busy store in London's Holborn Circus has been given a mobile-first makeover, so customers can scan and pay for their goods via their smartphone, while staff previously chained to checkout areas are free to spend time helping customers on the shop floor.
Sainsbury’s bets on the vinyl revival with its own record label
Helped by big-name retailers like HMV, Tesco and Sainsbury's, vinyl has seen a big revival in the UK. Based on Official Charts Company data, over 3.2 million vinyls were purchased last year alone, reaching heights not seen since 1991. It's a trend that doesn't seem to be dying off, especially given the news that Sainsbury's has today launched it's very own music label. From Friday November 3rd, the supermarket will stock two vinyl compilation albums from its new Own Label imprint, with help from Universal and Warner Music.
Sainsbury's gets serious about one-hour deliveries in London
For more than a year, Sainsbury's has offered customers in a small section of London access to "Chop Chop," its one-hour grocery delivery app. Shoppers in Wandsworth helped develop the service, before it was rolled out between Wimbledon and the West End. Trials at its Pimlico and Wandsworth stores appear to have proved successful, because today the company has extended deliveries to five more London boroughs, ranging across Zones 1 and 2.
Tesco has a one-hour delivery service in London now, too
Tesco has today launched a new one-hour delivery option in London, after having been caught secretly testing the speedy service last month. Via the Tesco Now apps for iOS and Android, customers can order up to 20 products out of a 1000-strong selection from 8AM to 11PM (or from 9AM on weekends). For serious BBQ emergencies, you can ensure delivery within an hour for an £8 fee, or choose the two-hour option for £6 if you've still got a pack of sausages in the fridge. Within the app, you can also track the progress of the moped-riding Quiqup courier entrusted with your supplies.
Tesco is secretly testing one-hour shopping deliveries
It's no longer enough for supermarkets to offer online ordering and home deliveries. Amazon raised the bar two years ago with one-hour Prime Now grocery drop-offs, and since starting out in London, it's expanded to other cities while its product selection has grown. Sainsbury's was the first supermarket to rival Amazon in the capital, but it turns out that behind the scenes, Tesco has also been testing a one-hour delivery service of its own.
Sainsbury's finally caves to contactless
No, you haven't gone back in time. We're almost at the end of 2016, and Sainsbury's is just now confirming it'll soon begin accepting contactless payments in stores -- finally coming good on an old promise (sort of). Most Sainsbury's Local spots will have the facility before Christmas, with more locations catching up early next year. It's been a long time coming, but Sainsbury's isn't the only slowcoach. Contactless support in Asda and Tesco stores is far from ubiquitous.
Sainsbury's expands one-hour deliveries in London
Sainsbury's will begin quietly bowing out of the digital entertainment game next month, shutting down its video streaming service and music, e-book and magazine stores. But while the supermarket is admitting defeat in one area, it's doubling efforts in another. Having trialed one-hour grocery deliveries in Wandsworth over the past few months, as of tomorrow Sainsbury's is expanding the service to cover a much larger area of London, spanning Wimbledon to the West End.
Sainsbury's to close its digital entertainment business
First it was Tesco, now it's Sainsbury's. The British supermarket will soon be closing its streaming and digital storefront services, called Entertainment on Demand collectively. These covered eBooks, music, movies and TV shows, and digital magazines. In a note to customers, the company said it was a "difficult decision," made "following a detailed review of our service." In short, the numbers just didn't add up. Or, looking forward, it wasn't worth the investment to compete with more popular and aggressive services, such as Amazon, Apple and Netflix.
Sainsbury's to triple the number of in-house Argos pickup stores
Sainsbury's certainly isn't dilly-dallying after completing its acquisition of Home Retail Group, owner of Argos and Habitat, last week. The supermarket already has plans for its new purchase, namely tripling the number of Argos "digital stores" housed within Sainsbury's locations. These miniature stores are primarily click-and-collect points, though they also stock thousands of items (but not the full catalogue) for instant purchase, later pickup or home delivery.
Sainsbury's trials one-hour grocery deliveries in London
Since Amazon arrived in the UK and started shipping packages (and groceries) either same-day or next-day, brick and mortar retailers have been forced to step up their game. Sainsbury's, one of the big four supermarkets, has already taken one big step to boost its presence by acquiring Argos, but it's now decided to take a page from Amazon's playbook and begin trialling its own one-hour delivery service. It's called "Chop Chop" and it costs £4.99 per order.
Sainsbury's is stocking vinyl records in 171 supermarkets
Vinyl is back, and it seems like it's here to stay. More than two million LPs were sold in the UK during 2015, up from 1.3 million the year prior. The steady growth since 2007 -- when the medium faced near extinction with 205,000 sales -- has encouraged retailers like Tesco to restock the old format in some of their stores. Sainsbury's is the latest to join the movement, putting 18 different records in 171 supermarkets across the country. The analog collection is mostly classics like The Beatles' Abbey Road and Rumours by Fleetwood Mac, although there's also one contemporary release -- the overwhelmingly popular 25 by Adele.
Barnes and Noble to close its Nook ebook store in the UK
Barnes and Noble has decided to lay down its arms and stop competing with Amazon for ebook and e-reader sales in the UK. The bookstore operator has announced it will stop selling digital content, including fiction and non-fiction, magazines and videos, from March 15th, passing customers onto Sainsbury's Entertainment on Demand service instead. Until then, Nook owners can purchase and download any remaining content they wish to keep on their device -- either directly through one of Nook's e-readers, or via the Nook Reading App for iOS and Android.
Sainsbury's is prepared to pay £1.3 billion for Argos
Sainsbury's mission to expand its non-food empire has been given a big boost after it agreed terms on a £1.3 billion bid for Argos owner Home Retail Group. With its latest proposal, the supermarket, which had an earlier offer believed to be around the £1 billion mark turned down, now has until February 23rd to decide whether it wants to make everything official.
Sainsbury's puts Argos on its shopping list
For big-name supermarkets and high-street stores, business has been tough as of late. Sainsbury's has seen its UK market share decline following the rise of discount grocery chains like Aldi and Lidl, while Argos has been squeezed by online competitors like Amazon. With profits falling, Sainsbury's has been seeking ways to reverse its fortunes, with Home Retail Group potentially offering one avenue of opportunity. The supermarket giant confirmed today that it tabled a £1 billion bid for the group -- which owns Argos, Homebase and Habitat -- back in November, but was subsequently turned down.
F1 tech is about to make its way to supermarket fridges
For over four decades, Williams has maintained its reputation as one of the leading names in Formula 1. In years past, illustrious racers including Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve topped drivers' championship leaderboards with help from a Williams car. But with successes now few and far between, the company has looked to its innovation arm, Williams Advanced Engineering, to convert its racing smarts into new technologies in the aerospace, defense and energy sectors.The division has already landed a contract to design the power and data platforms for the British Army's armored vehicles, but it's also spent the better part of a year developing a new way to help supermarkets keep your fresh food cool before you buy it -- and it may soon come to a store near you.
Sainsbury's will kill its mobile network on January 15th
After more than two years of selling mobile plans to customers, Sainsbury's is very suddenly exiting the game. Talks with Vodafone, the carrier underpinning the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), apparently broke down, leading the supermarket chain to quietly pull monthly plans from its website. A knowledgeable source told Engadget that Sainsbury's began removing marketing material in stores yesterday and is in the process of contacting existing customers about their next steps.
Argos opens its first 'digital stores' inside Sainsbury's supermarkets
What better way to maximise footfall to your store than to set-up shop inside places people visit daily for tomorrow's bread and milk? Undoubtedly that's the thinking behind Argos' new batch of "digital stores," where tablets replace order slips and pocketable pens to replicate an online shopping experience, now popping up within various Sainsbury's locations. The surprising tie-up was announced in January, but today sees the first Argos digital stores opening at Sainsbury's supermarkets in North Cheam, Surrey and Nantwich, Chesire. These smaller-than-normal outlets will offer up to 20,000 items for instant purchase or later collection, with everything else in the catalogue available for home delivery. A further eight locations (check the source link) will also open their doors at some point this summer. It's yet another one of Argos' modernisation schemes that include its partnership with eBay, click-and-collect stores and online 3D-printed jewelry service. And as far as this particular alliance with Sainsbury's is concerned, Argos might well be getting the sweeter end of the deal.
Sainsbury's oft-forgotten streaming service comes to Chromecast
Supermarkets can now insure your car, offer broadband and mobile services and, on the odd occasion, actually sell you food. In recent years, some of these grocers have expanded into streaming, launching online video, music and book services to supplement their DVD, CD and paperback sales. Not long after Tesco divested itself of all of its Blinkbox services in an attempt to battle back from its £6 billion yearly loss, grocery rival Sainsbury's is doing more to remind people that it too is in the streaming game. Today, the company has announced that its movie and TV streaming apps have gained Chromecast support, finally bringing it in line with bigger rivals like Netflix and Now TV.
Sainsbury's swaps pricing labels for e-ink displays in one London store
Considering their main role is supplying the everyday essentials, Britain's supermarkets are strangely into their tech. When they're not running streaming services (or offloading them), making tablets, dabbling in prototype wearable apps and trying to improve the customer experience, they're looking at ways to work more efficiently. Sainsbury's latest tech trial falls into that latter category, and sees pricing labels at the Shoreditch Old Street Local store in the trendy part of London swapped out for miniature, colour e-ink displays. This saves on paper, of course, but more importantly, some poor new starter no longer needs to spend Sunday afternoon trudging the aisles updating the two-for-one deals. Instead, prices are changed automatically and wirelessly.
Argos to open digital shops inside Sainsbury's stores
One of the main advantages retailers like Argos have over Amazon is that they operate huge stores all over the country. It encourages passing trade and it often means that customers can leave with their order just minutes after they arrive. The internet retailer is trying to combat this with the rollout of free same-day deliveries, forcing Argos to find new ways to get products into people's hands. Today, the company has confirmed it's done just that, announcing it will open 10 new digital stores inside selected Sainsbury's stores from this summer.