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Why dont Iceland (the food chain.) do internet shopping?
Tescos, Asdas Sainsburys all do internet shopping and delivery, but Icelands dont. Any-one got any ideas why? Ypu can get your food delivered if you i think spend over £40 to your door. Iceland do have some good ready made meals and quite reasonable prices, so why dont they do internet shopping?
asked in internet, shopping, icelands

Answers

Hiheels answers:

I'd assume that putting and keeping a fleet of refrigerated vans on the road is expensive and they'd have to put their prices up.
Looks like they'd rather compete on prices.


1 year ago / reply

P-Kasso answers:

Plus, to add to Hiheels' undoubtedly right answer, they'd also have to keep and pay for a set of highly expensive regional distribution centres acros the country with all the extra personnel costs and computerised warehousing costs and ordering systems and stock controls and stock checking coststhat that entails.

The customer would have to pay for these extra costs in the form of higher prices. Which goes totally against their marketing stance as a cheap and cheerful, no frills food supplier.

And, also, I'd presume the management of Iceland have already looked long and hard at the issue and have concluded that to spend millions on providing an internet service that only three or four people would use just isn't worth it.


1 year ago / reply

Aiming4777 answers:

They used to. It was one of the earliest and the best Internet shopping systems (in my opinion). We used to let our freezer get quite full and then go on-line and place a big order with Iceland. They were the first company to offer specific delivery time slots (they were usually within 30 mins) but this was probably more to do with the food being frozen than any business decision.

They did have a minimum value, which I think was £50, but they sold other non-frozen goods such as Coca-Cola and tea bags that could be used to make up the order if required.

I haven't a clue why they stopped the service. It just stopped one day and we asked in the store and were just told they weren't doing it any more. We haven't bought from Iceland since, not because we're sulking but because the shop is in the shopping centre and we shop at the supermarket(s) out of town.


Supplement from 11/26/2008 08:42am:

Interesting, back in 2000, Iceland won a Barclays Achievement Award for their online shopping service. The BBC report says ... "In the first six months of operations, the group said the iceland.co.uk website has generated sales equivalent to four average stores at a tenth of the cost". I wonder what went wrong? Perhaps it was competition from the major supermarkets who, of course, will deliver frozen foods and all the other groceries.


Supplement from 11/26/2008 08:42am:

Supplement from 11/26/2008 08:48am:

According to this article in The Times Online, Iceland closed its "loss-making home shopping business" in 2005. Since they offer a home delivery service (provided a minimum value of £40, it seems such a small step to get back into full on-line shopping.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/senior_executive/...


1 year ago / reply

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