Billa hires house delivery: changes for domestic customers

Billa hires house delivery: changes for domestic customers

The Supermarket Chain Billa has decided to consider its Austria -wide house delivery considerably from December 1st. Rural areas are particularly affected, while delivery will only be possible in Vienna and individual parts of Lower Austria and the Burgenland. This decision by Billa, which belongs to the REWE group, was made for economic reasons.

Although Billa sees itself as a market leader in online food trade in Austria, the company is concerned about growth potential in rural regions. David Renker, head of Billa's online business, reported that demand in these areas did not decrease, but has not risen either. "We just don't see the same growth potential here as in Vienna," he explained in an interview.

realignment of the online offer

Despite the reduction of the delivery offer, Billa plans to double online sales in the next three years. To achieve this, the company will expand the "Click & Collect" model, where customers can order online and then pick up their goods on site. By the end of the year, own switches and parking spaces for this offer are to be set up in all “Billa+” branches.

The house delivery remains in the capital of Vienna and in parts of Lower Austria and Burgenland. The delivery area includes from Mistelbach in the north to Wiener Neustadt in the south and from St. Pölten in the west to Bruck an der Leitha in the east. With two large camps in Vienna, Billa intends to reach a third of all customers in Austria. Even in cooperation with Foodora, minor purchases in cities such as Vienna, Graz and Linz are still delivered.

decline in online trading

The booming online trade during Corona pandemic has not been able to hold in recent years. Billa had already expanded the online shop in 2015 and offered the nationwide delivery in Austria; However, after the pandemic and the associated economic challenges have been finished, demand became lower again. While sales in online trade are estimated at 78 million euros for 2023 at Billa and at BIPA at 25 million euros, the total gross turnover of the REWE group in Austria has increased by 9.6 percent to 10.45 billion euros.

Change in the online business shows the challenges in front of which Billa and other retailers are facing. While the increase in online trade has been favored by pandemic in recent years, a rethink seems to be emerging, especially in rural regions where the customer base does not offer the same support as in urban centers.

For more information about these developments, the article by www.meinbezirk.at referred.