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Tesco is reportedly considering ending its butcher and fishmonger counters in its stores as consumer interest in them has dropped, according to the Telegraph.
Tesco is the only one of the big four supermarkets, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Aldi, that still offers a fresh food counter. Some 279 Tesco stores still have a deli counter.
The supermarket announced earlier this year that it would close more than 300 deli counters but now it seems that the remaining counters are in danger.
This move comes as consumer habits are moving away from fresh food counters. A survey by retail analytics firm IGD showed that fewer than one in ten of shoppers visited a fresh food counter in the final three months of 2021.
Richard Hyman, an independent retail consultant, told the Telegraph: “I would view it negatively, because it is withdrawing from an area of business service where British supermarkets could offer true differentiation.
“But if you are going to do something in retail, you need to do it well – and doing it in a mediocre fashion, simply as an excuse to charge higher prices, will just result in the sort of reaction from shoppers that we have seen.”
Tesco declined to comment on the reports.
