Swiss online supermarket and Migros subsidiary LeShop.ch grew its sales by 6.6 per cent in 2015 to CHF 176 million, with 40 per cent of all orders placed via mobile device.
LeShop.ch’s sales have grown for the third consecutive year despite the challenges posed by a strong Franc, which has seen many consumers look abroad for groceries, and according to estimates by Credit Suisse, may have seen CHF 11 billion flow out of the country.
According to the retailer, a key sales driver for it has been the increased use of smartphones and tablets amongst all age groups, as well as the expansion of its delivery service and the introduction of more precise delivery times.
In June 2015, LeShop.ch partnered with Migrolino stores, as well as Migros shopping and fitness centres, to place eleven ‘PickMUp’ points in shops, where online customers could pick up their orders.
Head of Trade at the Migros Cooperative Association, Ernst Dieter Berninghaus explained, “Experience shows that the more closely we succeed in integrating our online and offline services, the more loyal our customers will be.
“Customers who shop in our stores as well as using the home delivery and collection services buy more than twice as much as ‘classic’ store shoppers. This is why we as a group are focusing on this cross-channel strategy.”
Then in October 2015, LeShop.ch introduced more precise delivery times, allowing its customers in more than 40 Swiss towns and cities to choose significantly narrower delivery windows.
In these locations, LeShop.ch delivers between 9 am and 12 am, between noon and 2 pm or between 2 pm and 5 pm in the afternoon. Shoppers in Zurich can also choose between four extra hour and a half windows between 4:30 pm and 9 pm.
In its Retail Outlook 2015, Credit Suisse predicts that online grocery retailing in Switzerland will double from 1.7 per cent to 3.5 per cent by 2020, with LeShop.ch’s CEO Dominique Locher commenting, “A large part of the market is still unclaimed, and everyone wants the biggest piece of the pie.
“In these conditions, we can gain new customers by providing fast and precise services and undertaking cross-channel initiatives in collaboration with Migros.”
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Jenny Whelan. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
