A NEW store opening within a supermarket is to create 15 jobs for Southampton.

Sainsbury’s has announced that an Argos store is due to open today in its Hedge End supermarket.

The new Argos store will bring choice, value and convenience to customers who can now benefit from the thousands of technology, home and toy products available for immediate pick up and also collect orders they have made online.

The store has also created 15 new jobs in the local community.

Becky Copper, Sainsbury’s Hedge End store manager said: “We are thrilled to welcome the Argos team and even more fantastic colleagues to our store in Hedge End.

“The opening is great news for our customers, who are always looking for easier, more convenient ways to shop.

“We look forward to offering them an exciting range of products at fantastic value.”

Collecting in store is hugely popular with Argos customers and Argos stores in Sainsbury’s supermarkets have proved a hit as customers can shop for grocery products at the same time as picking up their Argos orders.

While 60 per cent of Argos’s total sales now start online, 85 per cent of customers choose to collect their goods in-store.

Argos’s Fast Track Delivery and Click & Collect means around 20,000 products can be ordered for same day collection in store and for home delivery in as little as four hours.

Argos is a technology-led retailer and the new store will have a Pay@Browse area with tablets that enable customers to purchase what they want quickly and conveniently as well as browse for products, with Argos colleagues on hand to help.

It comes just months after an Argos store was launched in Ringwood, creating 11 new jobs.

The store is situated inside the Sainsbury’s complex in Meeting House Lane, Ringwood.

There are over 280 Argos stores in Sainsbury’s supermarkets with customers valuing being able to shop for a huge range of both grocery and general merchandise products in the same place.

Sainsbury’s acquired Argos and Habitat in September 2016, creating one of the UK’s leading retailers.

The store has a network of 600 Sainsbury’s supermarkets, more than 800 convenience stores and 900 Argos stores in both stand-alone and supermarket locations.

Established in 1973, Argos is a leading UK general merchandise retailer offering more than 80,000 products through its website, apps, collection points and stores inside Sainsbury’s supermarkets.