Has Ocado’s switch to M&S worked for you?

100% agree with you Phil.

On 19th December, The Juicy Meat Co. products had been cut to 20 products. Today there are just 15, so not looking good.

They do really thick steaks that will no doubt be replaced by M&S thin steaks that I definitely won’t be buying. I think Waitrose sell Juicy Meat Co. products so will be looking to buy them there instead.

M&S have really undercut other brands on cheese. No doubt as people buy the cheap cheese, there will be justification to get rid of the branded cheeses. Then watch the price of M&S cheese go up.

M&S are top of the brands list, they are often the only brand shown under categories on a product page.

I hate the way M&S are pushing out brands that we have happily bought for years and replacing them with their own brand. Even Ocado branded products seem to be disappearing. I have been a happy Ocado customer for over 12 years, but I don’t like what M&S are doing there.

Another lockdown has shown the idiocy of getting rid of branded products and replacing them with M&S products. There are now many out-of-stock items as M&S cannot handle the supply and demand.

It is fairly obvious from the comments that customers are not happy losing their brands and being forced into buying M&S so it would be sensible to invite branded products back.

Surely the answer is for customers to switch away from Ocado, which has made a major commercial miscalculation – no doubt under financial pressure from M&S who thought they could just buy volume. Their product range is limited and does not appeal to everyone who generally like a mix of branded and own-label products with alternatives in each category.

Sainsbury’s home delivery service has served us very well throughout the last year or more and although we have done a bit of top-up shopping at M&S this has never been for essentials.

A small but significant percentage of what we buy each fortnight is not groceries and provisions [i.e. household, toiletries, health & beauty items] and it is very useful to have a supplier that can offer a wide range of such products to save having to order on-line or go out shopping.

If we weren’t in the middle of a pandemic John, I would agree with you, but at the moment it is impossible to get regular deliveries from other supermarkets as Ocado has been my main food supplier for so long. After a very rocky start and feeling abandoned by Ocado at the start of the pandemic I now get regular deliveries, so am better off than many others.

Ocado Retail Q4 Trading Statements
Customers continue to embrace the full M&S range with the biggest selling lines coming from everyday essentials in the M&S fresh categories
That is a joke as most of the competition has been removed or M&S vastly undercut the prices of branded products such as cheese. M&S are almost the only supplier of many fruit and vegetables.

Melanie Smith, Ocado Retail’s Chief Executive Officer, said:
“We continue to make good progress bringing even greater choice, quality, and value to our customers following the switchover to M&S at the beginning of September. At Ocado Retail we are constantly looking to raise the bar even further and the addition of M&S products to our grocery ranges has enhanced what was already the widest choice of products available online.
That statement can only have come from an M&S person. Ocado might be bringing greater choice, quality and value to old M&S customers, but certainly not Ocado customers who see less and less choice and quality.

To add to my growing list of kicked-out products, my dairy-free mushroom soup has now been axed – organic Auga Champignon Soup with 50% champignons.

I think Ocado are in for a massive shock when it is safe to go shopping again. They are alienating their old faithful customers for what? M&S customers? Pandemic customers? Reviews show M&S products are not as good as M&S think they are.

People are fed up with being stuck indoors and want to go out again which will include going into supermarkets and Ocado are giving them little reason to stay.

I am not convinced that supermarkets are unsafe for customers who take the correct precautions and observe social distancing. The majors have done a lot to protect their customers and expanded their home delivery services to meet demand. Perhaps it is local good fortune, but it has not been difficult for us to get convenient slots with Sainsbury’s and some slots are offered free of charge because of low demand.

Of course, if people panic and over-order then problems will arise.

A friend went to Lidl recently, was very satisfied with the arrangements, was pleased with her purchases, and saved some money into the bargain.

“People are fed up with being stuck indoors and want to go out again which will include going into supermarkets and Ocado are giving them little reason to stay.”.
This is an attitude we have to deal with if we are to get any control of the epidemic. People must control themselves for the next few months and we must, where necessary, enforce the rules.
The question to put to people who refuse to take necessary precautions is “do you want to contract Covid and risk having a lifetime of severe health problem and possibly to die, and do you want to take the risk of doing the same to others including your own family and loved ones?”

I suspect that Tesco introduced online supermarket shopping in UK. It must be about 20 years since my mum, who lived over a hundred miles away, used to phone me with her order and I would order the lot online and it would turn up at her door.

Amazon are now acting for Morrison’s but you can’t expect their usual excellent Amazon next day delivery for their fresh or other foodstuffs. .

Beryl – there was a degree of irony in my description of life on the ward. Some of the scenes and episodes were ghastly.

No grapefruit, nor any other fruit while in hospital, I’m afraid. The ban on visitors means there is no way of getting supplies. Otherwise the food was good.