Sainsbury's is looking to its online activities as one way to revive its fortunes, following widely-publicised issues with its IT and supply chain (Computing, 20 January).

Head of online marketing Claire Harper told delegates at this week's Multi-Channel Retail Show in London that a turnaround in the supermarket's fortunes can be seen in its internet developments.

Harper says product availability is Sainsbury's top priority, followed by increasing sales and customer service.

'We will do this through further online improvement,' said Harper. 'It is important to offer the customer convenience and ease online.'

In the past eight months the company has made improvements to its Sainsbury's to You portal, focusing on speed, ease of use and convenience. It has also redesigned the web site to take advantage of its brand, and made products accessible via differentiated micro-sites.

Harper says the company has discovered it takes five visits before a customer becomes a regular online Sainsbury's customer.

'Our strategy is to try to get them to their fifth shop and then start to reward them,' she said.

'All of our IT platforms are in place, in support of a number of customer-focused propositions that are already there,' she told Computing. 'The challenge now is to bring those together across functions.'

The company is working closely with its IT partner Accenture on these latest initiatives. It has also brought its online grocery delivery service back in-house.

Mim Burt, principal retail analyst at Gartner, says that retailers must get basic service delivery right first, before developing multi-channel strategies.

'Your customer should have one view of the brand before you have one view of your customer,' she said.