After several rounds of adjustments, the use of the head-to-head Carrefour shopping card was once again restricted.
Recently, the business editor found that the business hours of some Carrefour stores have been shortened, and the settlement of shopping cards has also been limited.
8 p.m. was originally the peak time for supermarket traffic, but Carrefour's Beijing Shuangjing store has closed its doors. The editor saw that more than ten "warm tips" were posted at the entrance of the supermarket, which said that "the business hours of this store will be changed from 10 am to 19 am from June 2, 2023." "Originally, the supermarket was supposed to be open until 22 p.m.
Like Xiaobian, many unsuspecting consumers have eaten closed doors because of this sudden time adjustment. Until about 8:30 p.m., there were still consumers who came to the supermarket one after another, and found that they could only leave sadly after closing. There are still scalpers hovering at the entrance of the supermarket, constantly asking "Is there an unwanted Carrefour shopping card?" We buy more at a discount here. ”
Not only have the business hours changed, consumer Ms. Yang told Xiaobian that Carrefour's use of shopping cards has also increased again in recent days. At Carrefour Shuangjing, she was told that using a shopping card could only settle 20% of the total purchase amount. She has a shopping card with an amount of 500 yuan in her hand, and in order to spend this card, she has to buy 2500 yuan of goods, which means that in order to spend this 500, she also has to pay 2000 yuan out of her own pocket.
Ms. Yang said that the rush to exchange shopping cards for goods was because "Carrefour has fewer and fewer stores in Beijing, and it is worried that shopping cards are stuck in hand." ”
As for the limit on the amount of shopping card use, Xiaobian heard from a card collector that at the end of May, the settlement ratio of Carrefour shopping card was still 40%, and after entering June, it dropped to 20%.
Why was the shopping card usage limit suddenly adjusted?
The relevant person in charge of Beijing Carrefour responded that in order to put an end to the recent concentrated run on goods cashing out and other behaviors of scalpers, and effectively reduce the proportion of shopping card consumption, the company has made temporary adjustments to the consumption policies of shopping cards in some cities. In the short term, it will have a certain impact on consumers' normal shopping, and Carrefour will optimize relevant policies at any time according to the decline in the proportion of shopping card consumption.
Even if the use of shopping cards is not restricted, Xiaobian found that there is almost nothing to buy in the current Carrefour supermarket. The pre-made dishes in the Shuangjing Carrefour store are only scattered goods and empty shelves. In the rice and flour grain and oil area, only one commodity is placed on each shelf, and the category is relatively single.
Some shoppers are also asking each other, "Where can Carrefour stores continue to use shopping cards to settle out", and the answer is mostly "The situation is similar to that in other stores." ”
It is worth noting that Carrefour Shuangjing store is Carrefour's first integrated transformation store. Two months ago, the Shuangjing store, which has been transformed into Carrefour Community Quality Life Center, was full of goods. At that time, the relevant person in charge of Beijing Carrefour introduced that the store increased its own brand products, streamlined the SKU from 18,000 to 9,000, and will promote the construction of pre-made dishes in stores in stages.
Why is this iconic community fusion store such a scene today?
For the shortage of goods and the problem of empty shelves, Beijing Carrefour once again pointed the finger at scalpers. "Recent company background data shows that the proportion of shopping card consumption in some areas is abnormal again, and the malicious payment of scalpers has risen again, which has seriously impacted Carrefour's normal operation and cash flow, aggravated the shortage of stores, and then damaged consumers' normal shopping rights. In Beijing, in the process of supply chain recovery and improvement, major brands such as Budweiser, Arowana, Luhua, Xu Fuji, Unilever and other major brands have sufficient inventory, and Tianrun Milk Beer, Yunsheng Liquor and Royal Paste will be on the shelves in the near future. ”
A supermarket industry practitioner told Xiaobian that most of the cooperation between suppliers and supermarkets is that suppliers pay for the goods in advance, and then the supermarket settles the payment. Once the supplier is concerned about the fluctuation of the channel provider's operation, it will withdraw or stop the supply in time. In this case, sales fluctuations and suppliers leave the market will create a "vicious circle".
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Text|Wang Weiyi
Editor|Kong Yaoyao
Image source|Beijing Business Daily, Xiaohongshu