Waitrose & Partners
Benefits of Our Transformation
Leveraging market performance data to demonstrate the financial opportunity of extended opening hours and secure Partner buy-in across Waitrose.
About Waitrose
Waitrose & Partners is one of the UK’s most trusted premium supermarket brands, known for its strong customer loyalty and distinctive Partnership structure. While the brand consistently delivers high levels of service and quality, it operated 65 hours fewer per week than competitors, prompting the question of whether extended opening hours could unlock additional sales. As a Partnership-based organisation, any change required collective buy-in from Partners, supported by clear, data-led evidence of the commercial benefits.
Results That
Matter
5%
Sales Increase
100%
Partner Approval
Re-captured
Share of Wallet
Extended hours
Customer Convenience
The Opportunity
The business saw an opportunity to boost sales and strengthen competitiveness by extending trading hours. The challenge was to build a robust business case that demonstrated the financial upside of aligning store opening hours more closely with customer demand - and to do so in a way that would earn unanimous Partner approval. Waitrose needed to identify where missed sales opportunities were occurring and provide evidence that extended hours could capture this lost spend without increasing operational risk.
Solutions Delivered
Beyond supported Waitrose with a comprehensive analytical review to model the commercial impact of longer opening hours.
- Market Performance Analysis: Combined in-store data with external benchmarks to measure sales patterns and identify missed demand opportunities.
Partner Engagement: Developed fact-based evidence showing the incremental financial gains from aligning opening hours with customer shopping patterns.
Tailored Store Strategies: Created location-specific recommendations to maximise benefits without increasing operational complexity.
Results & Impact
The analysis provided compelling proof of the commercial benefit of extended hours, leading to swift approval and measurable results.
- 100% Partner Approval: Clear, data-backed evidence secured full buy-in from all divisions of the Partnership, enabling confident rollout of the new hours.
- 5% Incremental Sales Increase: The tailored opening hours strategy drove a 5% uplift in sales across the - Waitrose estate, successfully recapturing previously lost customer spend.
The data-driven approach not only improved store performance but also strengthened customer loyalty by better matching service availability with real shopping habits.
Lesson Learned
Waitrose’s experience highlights how evidence-based decision-making can drive both commercial and cultural alignment. By combining data insight with Partnership engagement, Beyond helped bridge analytical rigour with shared ownership — ensuring change was both rational and embraced. The project showed that when business cases are built on transparent, trusted evidence, organisations can make bold strategic moves with confidence and unity.
Beyond have delivered a first-class output quickly and efficiently… It will be used to determine the decision that we take around the stores.
Head of Retail Planning, Waitrose
