ASDA Direct - huge savings
18 Nov 2010 ... George at ASDA Direct: £20 party dresses.
17 Nov 2010 ... Huge Washing Machine Sale
15 Nov 2010 ... 30% off furniture at ASDA Direct.
14 Nov 2010 ... ASDA Direct Christmas bargains have arrived.
ASDA Direct - news
24 Oct 2010 - Traffic chaos at new Workington ASDA store. Last week, Police had to be brought in to direct traffic near the store as shoppers rushed to check out the latest supermarket in Cumbria.
18 Oct 2010 - Asda announces plans to expand ASDA direct, broaden its range of foods, open smaller supermarkets and use parent company Walmart’s buying strength. Asda hope to create 6,000 new jobs in 2010, opening ten new stores and extending ten more. There are plans to accelerate ASDA's dotcom business, including grocery home shopping and Asda Direct.
23 Dec 2009 - ASDA Direct sales start today in an attempt to capture customers before the competition begin their post-Christmas sales. But they are just following in Tesco Direct's footsteps. More than a quarter of a million people used Tesco Direct on Christmas Day 2008.
3 Aug 2009 - Asda chief executive Andy Bond takes the challenge of riding from Land’s End to John O’Groats in 10 days, visiting 21 Asda stores, to raise £1 million for Pedal Power. Another example of the big supermarkets putting government to shame in environmental campaigning. Great stuff Andy! Drag a few MPs along next time...
21 Nov 2008 - Asda Direct started selling downloadable versions of consumer magazines using technology from John Menzies Digital, which already has online partnerships with WH Smith and ITV. Asda Direct is offering a free trial to the first 10,000 customers who register.
ASDA Direct v Tesco Direct
ASDA Direct is one of the UK's most popular online internet stores, used by thousands of shoppers every day. As with Tesco Direct, ASDA Direct allows you to buy non-grocery products through an online system and have purchases delivered directly to your door.
- Tesco Direct is the main competition to ASDA Direct.
Both ASDA Direct and Tesco Direct offer most categories of non-grocery and everyday consumer products. Offerings at both include bathroom equipment, cameras, home electricals, jewellery, kitchen products, TVs, furniture, PCs, mobile phones, watches, clothing, car accessories, and sports equipment.
ASDA Direct problems
Some items (like PCs) are not easy to find from the ASDA Direct home page, but can be found if you search for them (e.g., if looking for computers, type "PCs" into the search box). Things can get quite confusing because ASDA are selling so many different kinds of products; once a major supermarket has set up a Direct site it makes little sense for it not to sell "everything". That way ASDA Direct can act as a one stop shopping centre for the non-discerning customer. Many people just want to buy things quickly at a "reasonable" price and are likely to buy everything at ASDA Direct if they start shopping at ASDA Direct.
But remember, to find alternatives to ASDA Direct offers, it takes little effort to pop over to Tesco Direct, or to a price comparison site. You don't have to go over to the other side of town and spend hours looking for a parking space in the online world!
The ASDA Direct online catalogue doesn't offer groceries or books--you must navigate to other ASDA web sites to locate these products. This can be confusing as you can't find books on the ASDA direct site by doing a search, and you are not even directed to the ASDA book web site. To find these other products you need to scroll to the bottom of the ASDA direct home page and click over to the ASDA book web site.
One advantage that ASDA Direct has over Tesco is its clothing range. They have a memorable brand name, "George at ASDA", which (like "Ask Jeeves") gives a personal flavour to their offerings. This branding has certainly worked as it generates thousands of web searches every day. By having a memorable name customers can avoid "link spaghetti" and search directly for what they are looking for.
ASDA Direct online
ASDA Direct online has several advantages over a print catalogue.
- A printed ASDA Direct catalogue would be quickly out of date
- Products can be continually added to a website, it can never be too bulky for a customer to hold!