Supermarket wars hot up: Poundland launches online shopping trial
Poundland is dipping a toe in the waters of online retailing, with the bargain chain launching a trial online shopping service today.
The discount retailer’s website, will initially offer 2,000 products ranging from Poundland’s £1 Make Up Gallery cosmetics range to Toblerone bars and three-for-£1 cans of Coke.
Poundland said the service will have no minimum order value but customers will be charged a £4 flat delivery fee per order. Customers will receive their order within four-to-five working days. Orders over £50 receive free delivery.
Initially catering to UK shoppers only, customers will be able to order single units, bulk cases and a range of special case deals.
Jim McCarthy, Poundland's chief executive, said: "The online shopping market is a rapidly growing channel and one which could provide a significant potential opportunity for us. This trial is an important first step towards giving more customers access to our amazing value.”
Poundland is the latest discount chain to launch online after Poundworld began selling its wares online in April. Other discounters including clothing chain Primark have shied away from selling online in favour of expanding their store portfolio due to the small margins to be had.
The launch comes a week after Poundland's acquisition of (more) budget rival 99p Stores was given the provisional go-ahead by the competition watchdog.
The retailer currently has around 600 Poundland and Dealz-branded stores across the UK & Ireland and plans to open around 60 a year. It has also begun trialling its Dealz stores in Spain after opening five in the last financial year.
But how does Poundland stack up against supermarket rival Tesco? We've crunched the numbers to find out where the best online bargains can be found.
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