The Co-op has today outlined its growth plans, which include opening hundreds more franchised and Nisa stores, as well as growing its membership base to 8 million by 2030.
Data released by the convenience retailer shows it now has 5 million active member-owners, up almost 15% on the previous year, with a 21% increase in members shopping with the Co-op during December. It stated that the strong growth momentum demonstrates the value that members place on the benefits they receive.
The group is also targeting a greater share of the convenience market through omni-channel growth. This includes acquiring new Co-op sites, more than doubling the number of franchise stores, opening 400 new Nisa outlets, and accelerating its share of the quick commerce market to over 30%.
Meanwhile, the Co-op has today launched a new round of member prices within its food business. This will see prices reduced on 117 items, which, for the first time, will also include branded goods. The cuts cover key lines such as bakery, dairy, soft drinks and pet food, with the Co-op claiming members could save up to £10 a week.
The move follows a major investment in pricing by the retailer last year, where member prices were introduced on 175 everyday products, and takes the total investment to £100m.
Last week, the Co-op announced that it was ditching its 2p for every £1 spent rewards offer to focus on a “significantly increased” number of member-only prices and deals.
“Over the past year, our underlying financial strength has enabled us to support our colleagues and their communities, through the cost-of-living crisis. By placing our member-owners firmly at the heart of our Co-op, we’ve seen a marked increase in new members joining us and greater engagement from existing members,” said Shirine Khoury-Haq, CEO of the Co-op.
“As we enter our 180th year, we now have a unique opportunity to make this a golden era of co-operation. Co-op membership is not a loyalty scheme but rather a different way of doing business. We exist and are run for the benefit of our millions of members. As owners of our business, our members not only benefit financially from their membership, but also have a say in decisions we take as a business and help support and make a difference to issues that our members care about in communities across the UK.
“We are looking to not only provide greater financial benefits to our members through lower prices and offers across our businesses, but also to deepen our engagement with members on the decisions we take and the issues that matter most to them.”
NAM Implications:
- Given their high levels of customer loyalty…
- …extending their effective footprint is a no-brainer.
- So the extra shops will add incremental sales.
- Helped by loyalty-based discounts at point of sale.
- Worth assessing how these plans to increase outlet and membership numbers could be made to impact your business.
