Woolworths Australia: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Largest Supermarket Chain

Woolworths Australia 1
BUSINESS STUDIES
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Subject: Marketing
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Woolworths Australia 2
Woolworths Australia
Introduction
Woolworths supermarket is a chain of grocery stores in Australia owned by the
Woolworths Group. Founded in 1924, this store accounts for nearly 80 percent of the Australian
market alongside Coles (Keith, 2012). This report discusses the Woolworths supermarkets in
Australia, describing the products and services offered, their customer segments, promotional
strategies, their networking processes, customer treatment as well as competition. The data in
this research is derived from online sources from which findings and recommendations are also
derived. Findings of this report are that Woolworths uses social media and celebrities in
promoting its products and strives for convenience while shopping. The report recommends
continuous motivation of employees to enhance customer satisfaction and experience while
shopping at Woolworths.
Overview of the Business (1)
Woolworths majorly sells groceries, including packaged meals, fruits, meat, and
vegetables. However, they also sell DVDs, magazines and stationery items, baby supplies and
pets, household commodities as well as health and beauty products. This research will specialize
in Woolworths’ main business component, groceries. Across Australia, Woolworths operates
995 stores comprised of and 19 convenient stores and 976 supermarkets, making it Australia’s
largest supermarket chain (Arli et al., 2013). The mission of Woolworths is to provide valuable
and best quality products and services to its customers at all times and in a convenient manner.
The supermarket chain is built on a passion for retail, hard work, attention to detail, and ensuring
safety for all its clients.
Market Segmentation (2)
This refers to the process by which the business market is divided into subgroups of
consumers who share similar characteristics. Woolworths serves the whole of Australia in
general as it has numerous stores all over the country. Division of existing and potential clients is
thus not a feasible strategy for the entity as it aims to attract as many consumers as possible for
all its products, but a pricing strategy may segment consumers in that premium brands have
higher prices than other products. Some customers may prefer products at lower prices than the

Woolworths Australia 3
premium brands. However, Woolworths ensures that its customers have access to high-quality
grocery products by working with and partnering with various suppliers and growers across the
country. The corporation is able to source more than 95 percent of fresh vegetables and fruits as
well as meat from Australian farmers and growers. Additionally, the company strives to provide
convenient shopping to its products’ consumers by enabling them to purchase from anywhere
using the Woolworths Supermarket App and offering delivery services (Keith, 2012).
Identification of Customer Needs (3)
Woolworths determine what their clients’ needs are by prioritizing them. They focus on
creating a great retail team who listens to customers, suppliers as well as team members. Across
all the brands of Woolworths, there is a program known as the Voice of the Customer which
ensures that their complaints, needs and wants are heard and the retail team can concentrate on
enhancing their shopping experience. Woolworths IT team tries to keep up with the discussions
online about its products and services as people are likely to post their hopes, disappointments,
and experiences in various social media platforms.
Woolworths’ Promotional Strategies (4)
An example of a promotional strategy used by Woolworths is the use of offers and deals
for shoppers, which include vouchers, for instance, the frequent shopper transactions that provide
$20 for every 2000 points attained in the Tasmania stores. Woolworths also gives gift cards and
provides fuel (petrol pump) discounts using their card which automatically tracks purchases thus
eliminating the need to maintain paper receipts. Additional promotion strategies used by
Woolworths include use of newsletters and magazines. The media is another tool used for
promotional by providing discounts and benefits to online shoppers as well and enhancing their
image by spreading a positive brand image of their commodities and services through advertising
messages. The slogan Fresh Food People is a promotional campaign launched in 1987 and ran all
the way through 2012 (Arli et al., 2013).
(5)
The company ensures that its promotional strategies are up to date by changing and
acquiring new methods of promotion depending on the varying tastes and preferences of its
clients. It creates brand awareness and visibility hoardings, billboards, radio, and leaflets in