Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Healthy New Year habits and a rise in online orders spurred sales growth for Waitrose last week (to January 18).
The upmarket grocery chain said that divisional sales, excluding petrol, were 6.8% higher than last year.
According to Waitrose commercial director Mark Williamson, many people chose to order their groceries online, with a huge growth in demand for the service. Compared with last year, orders were up by almost 120%.
Customers also appear to be keeping to their healthier resolutions, he said, with a sustained surge in demand for healthier products.
Waitrose’s LOVE life range of meals, that clearly display their calorie content, saw a sales lift of 33%. Teas were very popular, with sales up 25%. The most popular blends were peppermint, ginger and green tea. And bottled water saw demand rise 20%.
The New Year has added to the appeal of healthier protein sources too. Sales of lemon sole fillets jumped 166%, whole salmon leapt 112% and Waitrose’s fish pie mix was up by 360%.
