Fishpond may offer supermarket-beating grocery prices, but it’s unlikely to make a dent in the sector’s competition, Consumer NZ says.
Fishpond has been promoting its “online pantry” offers, which sell Milo snack bars for $4.49 for six, a pack of Tim Tams for $2.99 a litre of Boring oat milk for $3.79 and a tin of Watties pears for $2.59, among other grocery items.
By comparison, Woolworths has the Milo bars for $4.99, Tim Tams for $5.49, Boring oat milk for $4.40 and Watties pears for $3.50.
Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said Fishpond had been making a play for the grocery segment for a while. Mighty Ape also dabbled in groceries.
“It’s similar to what The Warehouse has done, packaged goods and cleaning products.”
He said the Commerce Commission found people liked to do a weekly shop in one place that had all the groceries they needed.
People might buy items, if they were on a site like Fishpond, buying other things, he said, but it did not replace supermarket shopping for most people, who did not have the time for the “life admin” involved in finding items in different places.
Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen said online-only retailers could save money on their costs.
Sites such as Fishpond and Mighty Ape were familiar to consumers, he said, so they did not need to build the same brand recognition a new retailer would.
He agreed with Duffy that many shoppers may not want to go to the supermarket for three-quarters of their shop and then have the rest couriered.
“Maybe they would, if it’s a good enough deal.”
Olsen said any competition was encouraging, but there were still significant barriers to entry for true competitors in the supermarket sector. Even Costco, which has a shop in west Auckland, only had a real impact on its immediate surroundings.
Woolworths would also deliver more quickly. While it’s usually possible to order same-day or next-day delivery from the supermarket, Fishpond advised that orders made on Friday would be delivered between Monday and Wednesday next week.
rnz.co.nz
