Sainsbury’s has unveiled a brand new city convenience store in London concept known as On The Go, with plans already in the works to roll it out to other UK locations as part of a trial.
The Big 4 grocer’s Mansion House store in London’s Square Mile is the first On The Go store, combining fresh in-store food and drink with convenient ways to shop with Sainsbury’s and Argos.
Nine more On the Go stores will open across Edinburgh, Bristol, Glasgow and London over the coming months, further testing the format in city centres. The grocery giant said it has over 130 Sainsbury’s Local stores in busy urban areas that could be converted into the On the Go format.
Using data and analytics, Sainsbury’s designed the 2200sq ft Mansion House Local to match the needs of busy City workers. Customers can choose to eat-in – with perch tables placed at the front of the store to give customers somewhere to enjoy food or drinks purchased at the store.
Products from counters have also been brought to a “grab and go” station at the front of the store. Sainsbury’s said this would be changed three times a day to offer customers a range of food to go for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea.
The retailer added that almost 90 per cent of the products available in the new On The Go store have been picked specifically to meet the needs of Mansion House customers. Customers can shop till-free via the SmartShop mobile app while rapid exit checkouts are also available if they choose to use a till.
Argos and Tu clothing click-and-collect are also available for customers at the new On The Go store. “Convenience is a growing part of our business and we have greater capability than ever to truly tailor Local stores to local needs – across our products, formats, services and operations,” Sainsbury’s commercial operations director Graham Biggart said.
“Our new On the Go Mansion House Local is a great example, bringing a new kind of convenience to busy local workers with limited time and delivering the curated range and fast experience that will enable them to get exactly what they want at pace.
“We’re confident this format will further strengthen our market-leading position in convenience.”
Sainsbury’s Mansion House store manager, Donna Emerton said: “We’re really excited to bring local shoppers our new Mansion House store.
“By focusing on fresh ‘On the Go’ food and drink and making it even easier for customers to shop quickly and conveniently, we’re well-placed to bring busy city workers everything they need under one roof.”
The new format follows the success of Sainsbury’s recently launched neighbourhood convenience stores, which offer residents in the local community a one-stop shop for a broad range of food and general merchandise products as well as convenient services.
The On the Go stores also tap into the growing trend for convenient food-to-go.
According to IGD, the UK food-to-go market is forecast to be worth £23.4 billion by 2024, up from £18.5 billion in 2019 and growing by 26.4 per cent during that period. Sainsbury’s said that by the end of next month, it will have invested significantly in improving 200 of its 807 convenience stores, with further upgrades and investments planned across the estate this year.
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