Donald McFetridge

Thrifty Northern Ireland shoppers are unimpressed by the UK supermarket chain ASDA, a leading retail expert claimed today.

Donald McFetridge, from the UU’s School of Business, Retail and Financial Services, says the initial reaction from many consumers to the new ASDA stores – which opened in Northern Ireland for the first time this week – has been one of disappointment, despite the company’s pledges to implement a national pricing policy in Northern Ireland.

Complaints from shoppers have suggested special offers are  “nothing out of the ordinary”, and that the typical ‘BOGOFFs’, buy one, get one for free offers, are no better than in any of the other supermarket stores.

The flagship store in Coleraine still suffers from problems of road access for vehicles, even though a costly refurbishment plan of the building has been carried out.

“I predict that today's promiscuous and curious consumers will go along and have a look at what ASDA has to offer during the initial store opening period – but many will revert to their original choice of supermarket,” said Mr McFetridge.

“Large numbers of consumers have reported that they expected more price savings and they were disappointed that, especially in the opening week of their entry into the Northern Ireland market, ASDA did not appear to be doing anything special for consumers here. Petrol prices seem to be the main attraction for many ASDA shoppers.

“Meanwhile at Tesco, the offers are flying off the shelves with an updated format.  The advertising and special offers have intensified at Tesco while Sainsbury’s simply claim they continually offer their customers the best quality deals at knock-down prices.

“At the end of the day, I believe Tesco will win the battle for customer loyalty in the long-term,” Mr McFetridge said. “Consumers like to have a look at the latest offerings but are not easily persuaded. People here are very sophisticated shoppers - they are not going to have the wool pulled over their eyes. It remains to be seen what will happen in the future.”

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Trina Porter
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