Take a look at the most recent Kantar data and the success of Waitrose is plain to see. For the first time in two years the upmarket grocer has increased its market share and seen a sales uptick – despite the undeniably tough climate of the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Earlier this year, outgoing John Lewis chair Dame Sharon White even made a point of citing the grocery business as a key part of driving the partnership’s return to profit after a challenging period.
Moreover, the supermarket’s figures show that the number of people choosing to shop at Waitrose is now 15 million, a 6.2% uptick over the last year.
So what’s driving this impressive change? It’s not just sales that have been improving at the retailer, as the marketing strategy behind the success has also undergone a bit of a shake-up over recent months. According to chief marketing officer Nathan Ansell, the change has been affected as his team stick to the Waitrose core values, while also getting ahead of the times.
“What we’re trying to do is link the brand more into culture and give a sense of energy, excitement and talkability,” Ansell tells Marketing Beat.
“It’s all part of our wider approach to driving more frequency and encouraging more customers to turn left into Waitrose and not right to somewhere else.”
Adapting to trends Swift-ly
This year Taylor Swift took over Wembley during the London stint of her Eras tour (seen via bedazzled Swifties with cowboy hats and friendship bracelets). Globally, the artist is expected to gross a whopping £4.4 billion by the time she wraps the tour.
Marketers have lapped up Swift-mania and Waitrose hasn’t been afraid to throw its hat into the mix. With an array of fun lyrics like “It’s Somerset Brie, hi I’m Somerset Brie” – the grocer has taken to social media, adapting Swift’s songs to market its products.
It comes as part of Waitrose’s efforts to tap into younger and new audiences as well as its existing core. And if statistics are anything to go by, the TikToks are likely to pay off because around a third of Brits aged 25 to 39 rate the singer strongly.
And the retailer’s focus on TikTok has already reaped rewards — in Q1 #TeamWatirose social accounts delivered 700,000 customer likes and 25 million views, according to Ansell.
In a further effort to tap into new audiences, Waitrose has joined forces with the popular gut-health focused brand Zoe. As part of this, the supermarket recently launched its Daily 30+ whole food supplement products.
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Elsewhere, the supermarket has taken a considered fun-filled approach to reality television, bringing on board Love Island’s Farmer Will – not just any reality star, but one who had talked about having a connection with his animals.
The move, which came as part of the supermarket’s ‘Good Right Now’ summer campaign, saw Will jokingly express this affection for a flock of barbecues, with a wholesome dose of nature and a touch of humour.
Its Valentine’s Day ad with ex-Made In Chelsea star and Love Island Aftersun panellist Sam Thompson also racked up 4.4 million impressions, Ansell highlights.
He adds that Waitrose’s social media team uses a “very sophisticated matrix” to decide who to get on board but explained that “shared values” are crucial.
“We always look to partner with people who share our strong values, particularly on things like ethics and sustainability, but also people who genuinely love the brand,” he says.
“Many of our new customers share our values on things like ethics and sustainability, as much as our existing loyal customers so these things are no compromise,” Ansell says, but he’s keen to point out that what the supermarket has done is give those a “more modern twist”.
Waitrose is even taking on the social media savvy discounter Aldi – although, staying on brand – the battle is over avocados rather than caterpillar cakes.
You’re a little late to the party @AldiUK – with such great value Essential avocados, Cecil’s already won by a landslide????https://t.co/tgMpvr6XsB https://t.co/XwNV5hsHzh
— Waitrose & Partners (@waitrose) July 4, 2024
Changing with the seasons, the Waitrose way
In a move which Ansell describes as a “first”, Waitrose’s recent hyper-reactive campaign saw it install display adverts that changed based on the weather in your particular area.
With the slogan ‘Good for Rainy Days’ ramping up just how in tune with the seasons its product range is, this has been carried across YouTube. “We’ve got platform coding that automatically triggers ads to run depending on the weather for the viewer at that particular time,” Ansell says.
He emphasises that the retailer is always looking for ways to be “contextually relevant” in ways that “continue to build the narrative around the Waitrose points of difference”.
Creativity is not limited to social media though, as an OOH stunt proved earlier this year. Launched in conjunction with agency of record Saatchi & Saatchi, the retailer installed a tilted billboard in an effort to highlight its falling prices. Wandsworth council then fenced it off, citing concern about passers by. Unsurprisingly, this response to the wonky billboard became a talking point in its own right.
‘Our customers value much, much, more than just price’
Price reduction has been a core part of the supermarket’s strategy – “In the last year or so we’ve invested over 100 million pounds in price reduction on our base price and we’ve continued that recently,” Ansell says.
However, the supermarket is still sticking to its core principle of “customer experience”, according to Ansell.
“Our customers value much, much more than just price. They love our counters as they can get really great advice from partners,” he continues, highlighting the importance of ethics and quality.
Alongside its focus on price reductions, Waitrose has recently relaunched its premium number one range with nearly 200 new and improved products, from ready meals to dips and sauces, positioning it as “very much an everyday premium choice for food lovers.”
Ansell adds that the idea is that “you might have a number one tomato and vodka sauce with your essential spaghetti, which is how a lot of people shop these days”.
While price remains important, customers are keen as ever to add premium products into the mix as they circle the grocery store.
And whether it’s through its strong legacy of retail media, drawing on the right social media partnerships or cutting through the noise online – the Waitrose message is that life can indeed be “good right now”, is one that holds firm, regardless of the weather.
