Britain’s top supermarkets are a experiencing a major decline in product availability, according to a survey conducted by The Grocer magazine.
The results showed this to be a rising trend in the UK supermarket sector, with products currently selling out at twice the rate when compared to six months ago at the following grocery retailers – Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose and Somerfield.
There are a number of factors that have been blamed for this worrying trend, from seasonal weather to the increased emphasis on non-food products.
But chief executive of food industry consultants Libra Europe, Tim Kershaw, suggested that it was the result of retailers not paying as much attention to traditional shop-keeping.
He commented, “The supermarkets have been dealing with many other issues such as reducing waste and carbon emissions, allowing availability and other basic shop-keeping principles to slip down the agenda.”
Results from the supermarket survey showed that during the last six months, Somerfield had the worst record for availability of products, a huge 93.8 per cent of goods on shelves to be precise.
The best record went to Morrisons with 97.8 per cent availability, followed by Asda with 97.6 per cent. Waitrose was third in the list, with Tesco and Sainsbury’s making up the top 5, with 96.7 per cent and 95.9 per cent respectively.
Leave a Reply