UK Shoppers Use Of Plastic Carrier Bags Falls By Half
Shoppers at the UK’s largest supermarket chains have cut their use of plastic carrier bags by nearly half compared to the numbers that were used four years ago according to the Waste &Resources Action Programme (Wrap).
Data released by the program suggests that the number of plastic carrier bags used by supermarket customers has fallen by as much as 43 per cent during the last 4 years. 10.6 billion bags were used in 2006, compared with 6.1 billion in 2009/10.
The data also suggests that the quantity of material used to manufacture the bags has also fallen by more than half during the same period.
The BRC said: “This is a tremendous achievement by supermarkets and customers to reduce environmental impact.”
Stephen Robertson, the BRC’s director general, said the latest figures show that shoppers are “permanently adopting the habit of re-using their bags “.
He added: “Retailers are working hard on a range of other environmental measures, such as reducing food waste, reducing and redesigning packaging, as well as providing customers with recycling information through the on-pack recycling label.”
Asda Cuts Price Of Fuel Yet Again
Firing another salvo in the fuel price war, retailing major Asda has once again cut the cost of unleaded petrol and diesel by one pence per litre.
Asda cuts its price in time for the Bank Holiday weekend, and the new costs of filling up the tank at Asda is 110.9p a litre for unleaded, and 113.9p for diesel. Asda’s rivals have all pledged to match the cut in prices.
Asda’s latest cut comes just a week after it dropped the price of unleaded and diesel by 1p and 2p a litre respectively.
“When it comes to petrol pricing we keep it simple – we try to be the first to drop and the last to put them up, wherever you live,” said Phil Briggs, Asda’s Commercial Director.
“While others are happy to hold onto higher prices for longer, and even inflate them locally where they can get away with it – we believe the right thing to do is have consistently low prices every day, everywhere”.
Asda Entertainment Bank Holiday Weekend Voucher Code – Offer Ends Monday 30th August
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- These voucher codes begin Friday 27th August and end Monday 30th August and can be used on any Asda Entertainment product.
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Sainsbury’s Gives Lifetime Ban To Shopper
A shopper who frequents retailing giant Sainsbury’s has been banned from every single store of the UK supermarket chain, after redeeming points belonging to someone else’s Nectar card.
The shopper named Christine Turton, who resides in Crosby Merseyside was arrested by police on suspicion of fraud, after using a Nectar card belonging to someone else to purchase groceries at her local Sainsbury’s outlet last month.
The 48 year old shopper had both her finger prints and DNA taken, and was also required to undergo a drug test after being interviewed by police and then being released on bail.
Sainsbury’s has banned Ms. Turton from all its stores for life and have refused to lift the nationwide ban despite the case having been dropped by the Merseyside Police.
Ms. Turton says that she was accidentally handed the wrong Nectar card by a cashier on a previous trip to the supermarket. The card had been reported lost by an elderly gentleman.
Ms. Turton also insists that she has never received a letter from the retailers suggesting that she had been banned and has continued shopping at her local Sainsbury’s every day.
Mrs Turton, who shopped at the store since it first opened more than 20 years ago, said: “I would never use someone else’s Nectar card . It’s preposterous. I would have nothing to gain.”
“It must have been a mistake at the check-out weeks earlier. Like everyone else I didn’t check the back of the card for the signature. All the cards look the same and I can understand that a mistake was made, but to have me arrested over it was just ridiculous.”
“I was treated like a common criminal. It was a terribly frightening and something that I would not wish on anyone.”
“I’ve been a loyal customer of Sainsbury’s for two decades and think I’m owed an apology. But instead of that they’ve banned me from every store in Britain and now I have to go through an appeal process to get allowed back in.”
“I’m not prepared to let them blacken my name so I want them to overturn this unjustified ban.”
A spokeswoman for Sainsbury’s said: “We want to serve our customers, so we never take this kind of action lightly or without investigation.”
“Mrs Turton can appeal the ban but at this stage we stand by our decision.”
Basic Food Items Soar 59 per cent In The Last Three Years
Basic grocery costs in the United Kingdom have leapt by as much as 59 per cent during the last three years according to the results of a survey conducted by a price comparison website.
The results of the survey suggests that the costs of basic items such as eggs and bread have risen by 18 per cent since 2007. Whilst the cost of tea and rice has shot up by 30 per cent and 50 per cent respectively.
The overall price of fresh meat has risen 10 per cent. Bacon prices rose 9 per cent from 2007, whilst the cost of chicken and turkey fell 6 per cent, and the price of fresh fish declining 8 per cent.
Baby milk and drinks rose in price by 29 per cent, baby food and snacks prices rose 21 per cent, and even pet food has risen between 13 to 20 per cent.
Other products that have increased in price over the last three years include baby milk and drinks (up 29 per cent), baby food and snacks (up 21 per cent) and even pet food, with cat food and dog food now 13 per cent and 20 per cent more expensive.
Commenting on the findings, the website spokesman said: “While prices have stabilised or even gone down over the past year, the cost of everyday essentials has still dramatically increased over the last three years.”
“Consumers may feel that they are starting to bounce back from the effects of the most recent recession, but effectively they are forking out up to 59 per cent more for some shopping items than they were three years ago.”
George At Asda End Of Season Sale
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Asda To Launch Facebook Photo Printing Service
UK retailing giant Asda is launching a new service that that will give its customers the ability to print Facebook photos directly from their online account.
The new Facebook photo service will feature specialised photo kiosks which are now being incorporated into Asda’s 187 strong in store photo centres centres as part of an exclusive three-month deal with Fuji and PNI Digital Media.
The kiosks will enable Asda customers to print pictures from their Facebook account, create collages, and design gift items.
Jeremy Stacey, camera and photo manager at Asda, said: “Billions of photos are uploaded to social sites every month. This is an easy method to access and print these images.”
The retailing giant says it may widen its service to include other social networks, including MySpace and Twitter.
Facebook is the world’s largest social networking site with more than 500 million active users, including 26 million in the UK.
According to a new study, the website now accounts for one in six of all web page views in the UK.
Pot Of Marmite Now Costs More Than Petrol
According to a report in the Mail last Sunday, a pot of Marmite now costs more than the price of a gallon of petrol or a rump steak.
According to the report, the cost of a 500 gram jar of the dark stuff has risen by 25 per cent over the last half decade and is currently sold at £5.03 at Sainsbury’s and £5.38 at Waitrose a cost which exceeds the price of a gallon of petrol in most parts of Britain.
Around 60 million jars of the yeast spread are produced every year, and despite the increase in price, sales of the product increased by 2 per cent in the last year.
Unilever, the company which owns the Marmite name, refused to offer an explanation for the steep price rise.
Adam Leyland, editor of The Grocer magazine, said: “Compared with bread, which has gone up by around 40 per cent in price over the past five years, this is a relatively modest rise.”
“But Marmite does not appear to contain any ingredients that have been subject to sharp price hikes. This could be a case of Unilever trying to increase its profit margins.”
Asda Stops Cheap Booze Deals
UK retailing giant Asda has become the first supermarket chain in the country to cease offering cheap booze deals, as it seeks to aid efforts in tackling the problem of binge drinking in Britain.
Asda has introduced a minimum price policy at its stores, which means that alcohol cannot be purchased for less than the cost of duty on the product plus VAT.
The new pricing structures establishes a floor price that is applicable to over 99 per cent of the alcohol the retailer sells, and now implies that one litre bottle of Smirnoff vodka cannot be purchased for less than £10.49, whilst a 20-pack of Carling lagers will not be priced below £7.17.
Store managers, however, still have the right to set alcohol prices for damaged or end-of-range products.
Asda chief executive Andy Clarke wrote in a letter to Home Secretary Theresa May said: “It will be Asda’s policy in all our stores not to sell alcohol to the public below the cost of duty plus VAT.”
“I see this as a small but important first step in the process towards creating a new way of selling alcohol in the UK.”
Asda’s decision comes two months after Tesco chief Sir Terry Leahy backed calls for the introduction of minimum pricing on all alcoholic drinks.
Asda Loses Market Share
According to new data from market research firm Kantar Worldpanel, retail giant Asda continues to lose market share to its rivals.
The results of the survey suggest that Asda’s share of the UK grocery market fell from 16.8 per cent to 16.7 per cent during the quarter ending June 13th, its lowest level in eighteen months.
During the quarter Asda sales rose by 2.7 per cent. Contrastingly Tesco sales grew by 3.7 per cent during the same time frame, whilst Sainsbury’s experienced growth of 4.4. per cent, whilst sales at Morrison’s jumped by 6.1 per cent.
Tesco’s market share continued to be unchanged at 30.8 per cent, whilst Sainsbury’s continued to gain ground on the number two spot held by Asda, and increasing its market share to 16.2 per cent. Morrisons’ share of the market rose from 11.6 per cent to 11.9 per cent.
Commenting on the findings, Edward Garner, Kantar Worldpanel’s communications director, said: “It’s interesting to see shoppers continuing to trade up as demonstrated by Sainsbury’s and Waitrose as well as Tesco Finest. As we emerge from the grip of recession, quality is back on the agenda. This has come to Asda’s attention, with their latest drive to promote their prize-winning products.”
