Supermarkets boost online shopping services

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An increasing number of major Japanese supermarket operators are launching online shopping services or strengthening such operations in order to meet growing demand. For the online services, orders for such items as fresh food and daily goods are taken over the Internet for delivery within the day or the next day.

A charge of several hundred yen is required per delivery. The delivery could be free of charge if the total bill exceeds a certain level.

Main users of the services include expecting mothers, mothers with small children and working women. The services are also becoming popular among elderly people and companies.

In addition, some consumers are refraining from going shopping by car due to high-flying gasoline prices and instead are using the online supermarket services.

Seiyu Ltd, a subsidiary of U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc, became Japan’s first supermarket operator to launch online shopping services in 2000. Currently, 47 Seiyu outlets in the Tokyo metropolitan area offer online shopping services.

In spring this year, online sales at Seiyu grew 20% from the year-before level, company officials said.

Orders for heavy products such as bottled water and rice remain brisk while sales of fresh food, including “sashimi” sliced raw fish, are also increasing, according to the officials.

At Ito-Yokado Co, which launched its online shopping services in 2001, a total of 81 stores in the greater Tokyo area, the Kansai western region and the central prefecture of Aichi now deliver products ordered online.

Ito-Yokado, a unit of Seven & i Holdings Co, increased the number of the outlets by 71 in fiscal 2007. As of late August, the daily number of online orders was double the year-before level, officials of the company said.

The company plans to have stores in all regions, including the northern regions of Hokkaido and Tohoku, start offering the online services by fiscal 2010.

Aeon Co launched online services at a Jusco store in Narashino, Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, on an experimental basis in April this year and at a store in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, last Thursday.

Meanwhile, a Daiei Inc store in Tokyo’s Koto Ward started an online shopping service on Tuesday. The number of users is growing steadily, a Daiei official said, adding that the company will consider expanding the services if demand continues increasing.