Math, as in the company’s website describe themselves as a “tech-driven supermarket that offers a flexible e-commerce service for, among other things, groceries, kitchen products, home furnishings and pharmacy goods”, founded back in 2006.
Today, more than 1,100,000 members have created accounts with Mathem, and according to the company, around 53 percent of Sweden’s households are reached.
But now some of the customers have reacted to a change that the food giant recently launched.
Mathem lowers prices – here are the items that will be the cheapest
Mathem was founded in 2006. Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT
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Mathem replaces the bags with cardboard boxes
In mid-March, the deliveries from Mathem come in boxes, rather than bags.
– Right now, we at Mathem are investing heavily in pushing our prices with the goal of becoming Sweden’s cheapest online grocery store. The price reductions are possible thanks to more efficient logistics, and here the boxes are an important key. They simply make it possible for us to lower our prices, which we know is important to our customers, explains Lotta Olofssoncommunications manager at Mathem, for News24 and continues:
– In addition, the boxes protect the goods better during transport, and they also have a lower climate footprint in the form of reduced emissions.
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The goods from Mathem are now delivered in a cardboard box. Photo: Press image/Mathem
Due to the change, the company has, on their official Facebook page, shared a video where customers can see how to fold the carton in question when the goods have been unpacked.
Customer criticism of Mathem’s boxes: “Waste”
But in the comments section of the post, there are several customers who share their dissatisfaction with just how difficult the boxes are to handle and the pricing of them. This is how some of them write:
“Don’t believe for a second that you push the prices through these cartons, SEK 7 per piece, then as recycling. You have lost me as a regular customer. Better with Willys.”
“Agree that cartons are incredibly wasteful. 4 large cartons for a breakfast, fruit and portions of ingredients for 4 meals for a family of 2 adults and 2 toddlers. Bring back the bags.”
“I can’t lift the boxes and the goods from the floor, they are too heavy and unwieldy. Nor can I fold them despite instructions. Can you ask the drivers to carry them in and, for example, put them on a pallet so you don’t have to bend down to pick up the goods? The back goes off.”
“The boxes make me stop shopping at Mathem. I’ve been a customer for many years, but now you’ve lost me as a customer. The boxes are very difficult to fold. Besides, I don’t feel like paying SEK 7 each per box.”
“Folded boxes are still too big to fit in our container. They have to be cut up. The boxes were great for collecting small packages and newspapers in.”
Photo: Screenshot/Facebook/Mathem
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Mathem: “Change can be a challenge”
When Nyheter24 informs Mathem about the criticism, Lotta Olofsson regrets that some customers are not satisfied, but at the same time believes that there are also those who are positive about the cardboard boxes.
– It is of course sad to hear that customers are not satisfied and we understand that change can be a challenge for some. But we see in our customer surveys that far from everyone is dissatisfied, without actually appreciating that thanks to the boxes we can lower our prices.
Olofsson also believes that the boxes “are easy to fold according to the instructions on the box”.
– Then they don’t take up more space than a large number of paper bags, because you get fewer cartons than bags on delivery. It is also perfectly possible to ask our drivers for help in driving the boxes of tinder into, for example, the kitchen if you think they are unwieldy to carry.