New online shopping technology could see off the supermarkets
GROCERY bills could be slashed by a third with the launch of a direct shopping service that cuts out supermarkets.
Manufacturing giants Unilever, Mars, and Reckitt Benckiser have agreed to sell big brand items directly to consumers through a hitech digital platform to be launched in the UK next year, it can be revealed.
It means hundreds of products including Weetabix, Walls ice cream, Dettol, Durex condoms and Dolmio sauces could soon be available at bargain prices.
The grocery service, designed by technology company INS, is set to pilot in 2018 and is expected to be part of a new wave of shopping firms offering a radically different way to shop.
Unlike the supermarkets, which negotiate prices of goods with manufacturers, the website will let brands decide their own prices using “blockchain technology” to connect shoppers directly with products, eliminating the need for supermarkets.
Through an online shopping portal and an outsourced network of warehouses and delivery drivers, consumers will be able to find and buy products directly from manufacturers. Consumers will be charged the wholesale price plus storage and delivery.
In contrast, supermarkets generally have to raise the price of goods by 50 per cent to cover costs and make a profit.
In theory, the model should benefit manufacturers as they can charge higher wholesale prices for items than the supermarkets are willing to pay while consumers still receive a cheaper end price.
Blockchain technology uses a continuously updated digital database of who and where shoppers are, and what they are buying. Unlike traditional shops, blockchain databases do not need managing by a central administrator, as they manage and update themselves.
Clive Black, the head of research at Shore Capital, said the technology offered brands an “enormous potential prize” but conceded that online shopping was “boring” and could not replace the joy some experience of going out to shop.
♦ Large shopping trolleys are dying out, says Waitrose, as customers are scaling down their expeditions. In three years, the number of big trolleys needed has halved, the chain stated.