Asda reports buoyant Q3 update

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Asda has updated investors on its Q3 trading performance, noting its investments to drive value during the quarter resulted in a 4.7% increase in like-for-like sales, when compared to the same period last year. Total revenues, excluding fuel, amounted to £5.2 bn.

Asda's cost-of-living-focused initiatives

Asda’s endeavours to address the cost-of-living crisis included rolling out 141 new economy private label Just Essentials products, increasing the total number of products available in the range to 270. More than 10m customers shopped the range during the quarter. According to Asda, around 70% spend on the range is from new customers and more than 400,000 shoppers switched to Asda during the quarter from other supermarkets. Asda also continued its ‘Dropped & Locked’ pricing initiative, where 250 popular items are locked in price for the rest of the year to give customers more certainty over their shopping bills.

Q3 saw Asda refresh bakery, meat, fish and poultry categories

During the quarter, Asda also refreshed its bakery, meat, fish and poultry categories, adding over 100 new lines at different price points. This has resulted in a 15.5% uplift in bakery sales, year-on-year, and 6.4% increase in meat, fish and poultry sales. Asda also fully rolled out its new Asda Rewards loyalty programme to all stores and online during the quarter following a series of successful regional trials. The app, which rewards customers with pounds off at the checkout rather than points, has 2.7m active users.

During the quarter, Asda stepped up its plans to enter the convenience retail market, with the acquisition of 129 convenience stores and attached petrol stations from the Co-op Group, for a cash value of £438m. Although the sale has now formally completed, and Asda owns the sites, the deal remains subject to normal regulatory approval.

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