Iceland is planning to launch an online shopping service in early 2013.
It is the second time for Iceland Foods to venture into Internet shopping. The company first launched the service in 1999. However, after seven years it was closed down due to being only marginally profitable.
Speaking to The Grocer, Iceland CEO Malcolm Walker said, “We were one of the pioneers for online shopping when we launched in 1999, and it was marginally profitable. But at that time few of our customers had a computer and there was no broadband. “
Eight years on, the retail landscape has changed dramatically with customers having embraced online shopping via PCs, laptop, tablets and smartphones. “Now all of our customers have a computer, and they ask us to bring back online shopping on a daily basis,” said Walker. Much has been written about how pricing intelligence is now driving dynamic pricing with many grocery retailers now using competitor price monitoring to ensure that A-brands and own-label products are competitively priced.
The new service will extend Iceland’s current home delivery from store service. Iceland currently makes about 175,000 deliveries a week.
© Profitero 2012
Other Profitero stories on grocers going online:
Dunnes Stores Preparing To Go Online – Sunday Business Post
Time For Clicks Not Bricks – Morrisons To Go Online
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About Profitero
Pricing intelligence company Profitero works with retailers and manufacturers to help them increase sales and maximise their profits by using competitor price, promotions and stock information at scale. For more information on Profitero price intelligence and competitor monitoring, visit www.profitero.com or email sales@profitero.com.