Tesco remained the top performing retailer for Merchandising Deployment in March, according to the Product and Merchandising Tracker. Ocado showed improvement, moving up a rank since September 2016. The fragrance ranges of Boots and Superdrug are, again, the top two discounters covered in the Tracker, which monitors the merchandising deployment and discount strategies of 28 Elite and Leading Top500 retailers across six product categories.
Boots’ continuing position as the top discounter, with the average of 60%, a whole 20% deeper than any other retailer covered by the data and almost 25% deeper than its own cuts at the time of the last update, during September 2016. This stands in stark contrast to the norm, as the average cut percentage remained within one percentage point from its September 2016 level.
The grocers, despite their enormous product ranges, continue to perform well in Merchandising, which measures the percentage of range with reviews, descriptions, product videos, and images; and the average number of images per product.
Table 1: Merchandising Deployment Leaders – March 2017
| Retailer | Sector | Position change: September 2016 to March 2017 | |
| 1 | Tesco | Grocery | – |
| 2 | Ocado | Grocery | ↑ 1 |
| 3 | Debenham’s | Fragrance | ↓ 1 |
| 4 | Boots | Fragrance | – |
| 5 | Sainsbury’s | Grocery | – |
| Taking account of the percentage of range with reviews, descriptions, product videos, and images; and the average number of images per product. | |||
Table 2: Moving Up the Ranks in Merchandising Deployment – March 2017
| Retailer | Sector | Position change: September 2016 to March 2017 | |
| 1 | Morrisons | Grocery | ↑ 4 |
| 2 | Richer Sounds | Electrical | ↑ 3 |
| 3 | Boots | Fragrance | ↑ 2 |
| 4 | Sainsbury’s | Grocery | ↑ 2 |
| 5 | Ao.com | Appliances, Electrical | ↑ 2 |
Superdrug occupies second place on the biggest discounters table through its distinct strategy of including promotions on a large proportion of its products, with 96.8% on offer in during the period surveyed, with the average at 27%.
Table 3: The Biggest Discounters – March 2017
| Retailer | Sector | Position change: September 2016 to March 2017 | |
| 1 | Boots | Fragrance | – |
| 2 | Superdrug | Fragrance | – |
| 3 | Debenham’s | Fragrance | – |
| 4 | Early Learning Centre | Toys | ↑ 14 |
| 5 | Mothercare | Toys | ↑ 1 |
| Taking account of the percentage of products on promotion and the average depth of cut. | |||
Retailers in the Fragrance and Toys sectors rank prominently among the biggest discounters in March. Nine of the top 10 discounters fall within these two sectors. The percentage of promotions to products in the Grocery sector, in particular, has fallen almost uniformly since August 2016, with the sole exception of Asda. This trend is, according to Chris Elliott, insight analyst at Brand View, likely a result of food inflation due to rising import costs triggered by the EU referendum. “Rising import costs since have hit household staples such as butter and vegetables leading to grocery inflation of 1.4 percent in the 12 weeks to 26 February 2017”, he said. This inflation has, in particular, hit household staples. Asda stands out among the grocers for increasing promotions during this period when most of its competitors are decreasing promotions if not raising prices.
About the Product and Merchandising Tracker
InternetRetailing partners with Brand View to analyse the approach to discounting and product display adopted by the UK’s top retailers across six categories of retail. The tracker covers products in the Appliances, DIY, Electrical, Fragrance, Grocery, and Toys sectors. The index is updated periodically.
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