Woolworths sees leap in NZ home delivery, ‘direct to boot’ shoppers

Thursday, 1 May 2025

The Grey Lynn Countdown is a ‘dark’ store, only used to fulfil online orders.

Australian supermarket giant Woolworths has reported a leap in the proportion of its customers who are no longer content to pick their groceries off the shelves for themselves.

The Australian ASX-listed grocery group reported on Thursday a 4.8% rise in sales revenue in the 13 weeks to April 6, which is the third quarter of its financial year.

Its total revenue in New Zealand passed $2.1 billion.

But sales through its e-commerce shopping channels rose just over 24% to $313 million from $252m in the same period in its last financial year.

“E-commerce sales in Q3 increased by 24.3% to $313 million with penetration reaching 14.8%,” it told shareholders in an announcement on the ASX.

“Convenient same day propositions including Delivery Now and Milkrun are driving strong growth with 23% of e-commerce orders fulfilled within two hours and 89% of orders fulfilled within 24 hours of order placement,” it said.

Willis said she was issuing a ‘Request for Information’ which would ask potential supermarket companies what changes are needed to enable them to compete nationally.

Some of those orders are being fulfilled by “dark” stores, like ones it operates in Penrose and Grey Lynn in Auckland, which are closed to the public but fill online shopping orders.

“Direct to Boot is now available in 52 stores with Milkrun available in 77 stores.”

Woolworths said average grocery prices eased by 0.3% in the quarter driven by falling prices for fruit and vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes and citrus.

The group celebrated the one-year anniversary of its Everyday Rewards rewards scheme relaunch.

It also reported an increase in its approval rating among customers to shareholders.

Pieter de Wet, Woolworths New Zealand interim managing director said the growth in e-commerce reflected the changing ways that New Zealanders were choosing to shop for food.

FreshChoice is another Woolworths-owned brand.

“More than ever, customers can shop around and compare prices and products online to choose the best option for their needs and budget,” he said.

It continued to re-brand its remaining Countdown stores to Woolworths. That process would be finished by the end of the year.

“The decline in average prices this quarter is … a good sign that food inflation is easing which is very welcome news,” de Wet said.

“However, we are a small, exporting country that’s buffeted by international dynamics, and while rising dairy and beef prices at the moment are great news for our farmers, it’s no secret that this has a knock-on effect for Kiwi households.”

Woolworths has attracted headlines over a restructure that Workers First Union national retail secretary Rudd Hughes said would affect 4400 members, lead to reduced income for workers and should not go ahead in its current form.

“As we head into the rest of the year, we’ll continue to closely monitor our costs and remain focused on meaningful value for our customers,” de Wet said.

Supermarkets have come under increasing political pressure over their pricing, and the Government wants a third supermarket group to enter the market.

While there are multiple supermarket brands in New Zealand, the majority are owned by just two operators: Woolworths (Countdown, Woolworths, FreshChoice and SuperValue) and Foodstuffs (Pak‘nSave, New World, Gilmours and Four Square)

Woolworths owns 185 supermarkets in New Zealand, and has 66 FreshChoice and 12 SuperValue franchise stores.