Supermarkets such as Colruyt, Delhaize and Carrefour expect greater end-of-year activity due to the closure of the catering industry. Colruyt already includes a pressure gauge in its app.
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Do not wait until the last moment to buy things that you can already get at home, Delhaize warns its customers. The supermarket chain thinks that the typical end-of-year rush and last minute purchases will lead to crowds and queues. Delhaize says it is already accelerating certain promotions to encourage customers to shop in installments.
Colruyt assumes that customers will plan better, precisely because they are aware of the problem. But they still include a pressure gauge in the Colruyt app so that the customer knows what the more quiet hours are.
Carrefour says the company has built up larger stocks. This is also the case at Colruyt and Delhaize. ‘During the end of the year period, 20 percent more goods leave our distribution centers and the drivers drive 15 percent more,’ says Silja Decock of Colruyt.
Delhaize, on the other hand, expects that more people will organize meals at home during the end of the year period instead of one big party. Carrefour calls on customers to take into account that smaller party tables also mean smaller (fresh) orders. “We have to combat food waste,” says a spokeswoman.
But Carrefour also calls on customers to work more quickly on the shopping list and to anticipate. Both online and offline crowds are expected. Delhaize says a survey shows that 97 percent of consumers in the store want to do their year-end shopping.
Home deliveries
To spread the crowds, the promotional campaigns are also adjusted so that certain items are already being purchased.
‘Apart from that, it is better to buy dry food such as pasta, sauces, drinks and everything that is perishable,’ says Delhaize spokesperson Roel Dekelver. Delhaize will also adjust the shopping hours on certain days. On Wednesday December 23 and December 30 the shops will open their doors at 7 am. This is also the case on Thursday December 24 and December 31, but on those Thursdays the Delhaize stores close at 5 pm to give the staff the opportunity to celebrate at home. At Colruyt, this will be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on 24 and 31 December.
Delhaize also expects to be very busy at the collection points and that there will be more demand for home deliveries. Delhaize will now provide home deliveries on a few Sundays until 2 pm in the afternoon.
According to Dekelver, Delhaize has increased its home delivery capacity by 30 percent. It is doubtful whether this will be enough. ‘You have logistical constraints such as available transport material,’ says Dekelver.
Colruyt has increased the collection capacity of its Collect & Go. With regard to home deliveries, Colruyt currently only has smaller experiments.
Time slots not unlimited
During the previous year-end peak, the demand for home delivery already increased by 30 percent. During the first lockdown there was a small tsunami. Also at the collection points. Retailers such as Colruyt, Delhaize and Carrefour were then unable to offer their customers enough time slots, which meant that online orders could not be ordered for several days. It remains to be seen whether the extra capacity will be sufficient.
The expectation is that because the restaurants will remain closed, the pressure on the supermarkets will be higher than normal. And because people cannot go to restaurants, they would organize more dinners at home. This means that the supermarkets expect more busy days than during a normal end-of-year period.
The supermarkets are also concerned that long queues may arise. “We are going to apply the safety rules strictly,” says Dekelver. The chains have made various investments to be able to offer disinfected shopping trolleys. Colruyt previously invested in personal tools. Delhaize recently installed a new disinfection system.
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