Exactly one year ago, the Belgian Colruyt Group launched its bargain webshop Deals!, a platform offering near-food offers at significant volume discounts. A discount of 58 % for 84 toilet rolls? An increasing number of bargain hunters are finding their way to the platform.
Responding to Amazon and Bol.com
Colruyt Group launched its new shopping platform exactly one year ago, in response to the increasing competition from foreign online players. The share of near-food products (such as toothpaste, toilet paper or detergent) in traditional supermarkets is coming under pressure because of bulk offers and flash sales on international sites, like Amazon Prime Days or bol.com‘s bulk days.
“People are increasingly finding their way to those new ways of selling”, project manager Jean-Charles Verhaeghe says. Deals! is, therefore, a retail response to such an opportunity: “Very high volumes, but at a very low price.” Colruyt Group buys up lots from suppliers, with products of which the packaging has changed or from leftover stocks.
The platform started with ten deals per week, but has increased to an average of twenty. This week, in celebration of the webshop’s first anniversary, there are even 34 deals. For the first time, these include a food product: coffee capsules. “We noticed that volume purchases work for hot drinks, but also for targeted non-food items. So in the future, we will have a more diverse and wider range of offers and more deals”, Verhaeghe explains.
No cannibalism
A permanent offer, however, is neither possible nor desirable. “We are at the end of the chain, and we take what is left. First come, first served. Moreover, we do not intend to make this a mainstream or additional formula. Deals! should remain a complementary channel.” Complementary, also in its customer reach: “Every week, more people find their way to the platform. Some of them are non-Colruyt customers, true bargain hunters, and promo-oriented people who normally buy such products elsewhere. For instance, people who do buy food from us, but usually get their toilet paper elsewhere.”
Deals! has exceeded expectations immediately, even though initially, Verhaeghe was cautious. “Sometimes we talk about 600 dishwasher tablets, will that catch on? Apparently, it will. We notice that people often buy products collectively, amongst themselves. Meanwhile, I am strongly convinced that Deals! has not even reached its full potential yet.”
