Tuesday 7 July 2015

Sunday Trading

It has been suggested that in the Budget this week that local authorities will be given the power to extend or relax Sunday trading laws. I don't know if they will also be able to tighten the restrictions.
I have pontificated on this subject several times in the past  but that does not deter me from repeating my views:
  • The Sunday Trading Act was introduced to satisfy large supermarket companies and was never justified. 
  • The experience during the Olympics in 2012 when a temporary relaxation of the regulations was introduced proved there is no demand for extended hours on Sunday from shoppers. 
  • Shoppers are turning away from large supermarket expeditions in favour of  smaller and more frequent purchasing.
  • This has been reflected in company performance - Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury, Morrisons and Coop have all lost market share over the last three years.
  • Waitrose, Aldi, Lidl have all gained market share. Aldi has even overtaken Waitrose.
  • Shoppers are not starving because of the shorter trading hours on Sunday: 20% of all food purchased in the UK is discarded.
  • Life is hectic enough and I think  we should have one day in the week for relaxation and contemplation.
  • One in three of our supermarket bills is incorrect. This is almost always a difference between shelf prices and tills.  Tesco are the worst. All supermarkets need to improve their service.
My previous posts on this subject can be found here:
http://nbgecko.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/a-great-opportunity-for-tesco.html
http://nbgecko.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/time-to-make-sundays-more-special.html


Market share
2015                              2012
Tesco 28.4%                              29.9%
Asda 17.1%                              17.5%
Sainsbury's 16.4%                               16.7%
Morrisons 10.9%                               12.3%
The Co-operative 6.0%                                  7%
Aldi 5.3%                                  3.5%
Waitrose 5.1%                                   4.3%
Lidl 3.7%                                   2.5%
Iceland 2.1%                                   2.1%

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