Sainsbury's to convert Argos stores to digital, expand Habitat

Sainsbury's, which has just opened its 50th Argos Digital store, has announced plans to transform 60 stand-alone Argos stores to the digital format and open 10 further Mini Habitat stores in its supermarkets.

It said the opening marks an important milestone in the retailer’s strategy to be a multi-product, multi-channel retailer, serving customers quickly and conveniently whenever and wherever they want to shop.

The group said the changes will mean that over a third of the Argos store estate will be digital - meaning customers use an iPad to make their orders - in a year's time.

Argos chief executive officer John Rogers said: "The opening of our 50th Argos Digital store just seven months after we acquired the company shows we are moving ahead at pace with our strategy. Our cutting-edge digital capability is a core strength of our business and our decision to transform 60 Argos stores by March next year moves our strategy on further. Over a third of the store estate will now benefit from cutting-edge digital technology that will improve the customer experience, making shopping faster and more convenient.”

He noted that Argos Digital stores located in Sainsbury’s supermarkets that have been open for more than a year are delivering 20 to 30% like-for-like sales growth.

Sainsbury's bought Home Retail Group last September in a deal worth £1.4bn.

At 1040 BST, the shares were flat at 257.90p.