Asda has revealed it has completed the first phase of its web-to-mobile integration strategy, following the launch of online grocery apps for iPhone and Android smartphones, and m-web sites for food, general merchandise and George.
Customers can now switch between desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone, enabling them to shop whether they’re at home, on the move, or in one of its 544 stores.
The retailer now expects more than one-in-10 online orders to be placed via a mobile device by the end of 2012, as it sees an exponential growth in customers choosing to shop on the move with their smartphones.
Asda also revealed more than 10 million customers have now registered online. In addition more than 40% of all orders placed on Asda Direct and George.com are now fulfilled in an Asda store, with customers also taking the opportunity to do a ‘top-up’ grocery shop at the same time. ‘Click and collect’ is enabling Asda’s customers to access more extensive ranges than its stores can, and collect at a time convenient to them, with no need to sit at home for a delivery.
The recent explosion in the adoption of smartphones and tablets in the UK has driven a huge increase in the number of online orders placed by customers on the move. Asda’s iPhone app has been downloaded by more than half a million people in the last six months, and its new Android app has attracted 75,000 downloads in just a month. As a result 6% of grocery orders are now placed on a mobile device, with this figure set to double in the next six months.
Judith McKenna, Asda’s chief operating officer, said: “Gone are the days when we could label a customer as either a traditional or a dotcom shopper. Customers don’t think in terms of channels or devices, they want to shop with ease, compare prices at the touch of a button, and pick up a product or have it delivered with the minimum of fuss. As a result, the world of retailing is being transformed at a remarkable rate and opening up exciting opportunities for retailers like ourselves.
“In addition social media is changing the way that we interact with our customers. Our Facebook fans are the most engaged in retail globally, which means the conversations we are having are equivalent to word of mouth wildfire. This is beginning to make a real difference to our business, in terms of what we sell and how we sell it.”
Source: Asda
