Sainsbury's pilots Argos pop-ups to drive brand awareness

The supermarket giant’s boss Mike Coupe said that he planned to install a permanent Argos concession or click and collect point in every Sainsbury’s store “over time”, giving all Sainsbury’s customers access to the general merchandise retailer’s range.

But Sainsbury’s, which completed the £1.4bn acquisition of Argos owner Home Retail Group last month, is trialling the use of temporary pop-ups in stores that might not have the floor space to accommodate a permanent Argos shop-in-shop.

The first tranche of Argos pop-ups will be tested in Hereford, Cambridge and Charlton, Retail Week has learned.

John Rogers, who took the reins at the rebranded Sainsbury’s Argos last month, said: “We are trialling the concept of a pop-up shop, which is a much smaller footprint.

“By getting a physical presence out there into our store estate will drive customers into our stores to shop with us physically but also online as well.”

John Rogers, Sainsbury’s

“It’s this idea of ‘how do we get the brand out there to customers?’ We’ve got 26 or 27 million customers coming to our stores week-in week-out, some of whom are already Argos shoppers but some of whom are not.

“It’s about how do we get that brand out there to our customers to increase awareness of the brand, which is obviously very high, but consideration could be higher.

“By getting a physical presence out there into our store estate will drive customers into our stores to shop with us physically but also online as well.”

Sainsbury’s Argos chief digital and marketing officer Bertrand Bodson added that Argos had also tested pop-ups at a number of festivals, offering revellers weekend essentials such as umbrellas and batteries.

Bodson hinted that the business would be even more innovative as the integration process gathers pace.

He said: “Don’t be surprised to see us try all sorts of things.”

‘Supermarket of the future’

Details of the pop-up pilot were revealed as Sainsbury’s showed off its “supermarket of the future” in Nine Elms, Vauxhall.

The revamped 61,000 sq ft store houses Argos digital and Habitat concessions, a sushi station, new-look butcher, fishmonger, patisserie and deli counters, plus an enlarged area dedicated to its Tu clothing range.

Sainsbury’s will open five Habitat shop-in-shops by early 2017 – ranging from 1,400 sq ft to 2,00 sq ft in size – while it has targeted 30 Argos digital concessions across its estate by Christmas.

Coupe said the new-look store had been designed because “customer shopping habits are changing – and changing very rapidly.”

He added: “We need to set our business up to be able to adapt to that changing customer environment.

“Nine Elms is our vision for the Sainsbury’s supermarket of the future – a true destination store for our customers, where they can get everything they need under one roof.”