 |
 | |
Type of site | Online retailer |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Owner | Tesco |
| URL | www |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Launched | 2000 |
| Current status | Active |
Tesco.com is an electronic commerce website operated by Tesco. It offers a wide range of other products, including electronic goods, books, broadband and financial services. Tesco closed their Tesco Direct website in 2018.
Tesco has operated on the Internet since 1994 and started an online shopping service named 'Tesco Direct' in 1997. Concerned with poor web response times (in 1996, broadband was virtually unknown in the United Kingdom), Tesco offered a CDROM-based off-line ordering program which would connect only to download stock lists and send orders. This was in addition to, rather than instead of, ordering via web forms, but was withdrawn in 2000. Tesco.com was formally launched on 11 April 2000. [1] It also has online operations in the Republic of Ireland and South Korea. In 2003, tesco.com's CEO at the time, John Browett, received the Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Award for the innovative processes he used to support this online grocery service.
In 2001, Tesco.com invested in GroceryWorks, a joint venture with the American Safeway Inc. (who had long since sold-off their UK subsidiary and Tesco's former rival, Safeway plc), operating in the United States and Canada. GroceryWorks had stepped into the void left by the collapse of Webvan, but did not expand as fast as initially expected and Tesco sold its stake to Safeway Inc in 2006. [2]
Tesco claimed in its 2005 annual report to be able to serve 98% of the UK population from its 300 participating supermarkets. In the financial year ended 24 February 2007, it recorded online sales up 29.2% to £1.2 billion and profit up 48.5% to £83 million, with over 250,000 orders per week. [3]
Tesco launched its first home shopping catalogue in autumn 2006, as another channel for sales of its non-food ranges. This is integrated with the internet operation, with both channels being branded as "Tesco Direct". [4]
Tesco launched an advertising campaign for its internet phone, marketing the service to customers by offering free calls to all other Tesco internet phone customers.
On 1 October 2006, Tesco announced it would be selling six own-brand budget software packages for under £20 each, including office and security suites, in a partnership with software firm Formjet. [5] As Formjet is exclusive distributor for Panda Security and Ability Plus Software, packages from these companies are likely to feature.
In June 2007, Tesco.com became the first home delivery company in UK to provide customers the option of delivering shopping in green boxes without carrier bags in a bid to reduce the amount of carrier bags used as part of Tesco's green commitment. In return for customers going bag free they receive green clubcard points. [6] After trialling a fully bagless delivery service, Tesco stopped using plastic and paper carrier bags for all online orders delivered from 19 August 2019. [7] The only bags used from this date will be for small loose items such as nuts and small fruits which could not be placed loose in a delivery crate, and small bags for meat/fish items which might otherwise prove a hygiene risk.
In July 2009, Tesco became the first supermarket in the world to offer an API. [8] This feature will potentially pave the way for smart appliances such as networked fridges that can automatically order food. [9]
Tesco.com acts as a portal website to its other major on-line business areas: Tesco Grocery, Tesco direct, Clubcard, Bank, Clothing, Wine By The Case, and Tesco Entertainment.
Tesco PLC is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in the world measured by revenues. It has shops in Ireland, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. It is the market leader of groceries in the UK.
Wm Morrison Supermarkets, trading as Morrisons, is the fourth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, as well as one in Gibraltar. The company is headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.
Sobeys Inc. is the second largest supermarket chain in Canada, with over 1,500 stores operating across Canada under a variety of banners. Headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, it operates stores in all ten provinces and accumulated sales of more than C$25.1 billion in the fiscal 2019 operating year. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Empire Company Limited, a Canadian business conglomerate.
Waitrose & Partners is a brand of British supermarkets, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. It was acquired in 1937 by employee-owned retailer John Lewis Partnership, which still sells groceries under the brand. Its head offices are located in Bracknell and Victoria, England.
Ocado Group is a British business which licenses grocery technology based in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. It owns a 50% share of Ocado.com and licences its grocery fulfilment technology to global retailers, such as Kroger in the USA and Coles Group in Australia. The company was floated on the London Stock Exchange on 21 July 2010, and is a member of the FTSE 100 Index.
Woolworths Ltd is an Australian chain of supermarkets and grocery stores owned by Woolworths Group. Founded in 1924, Woolworths today is Australia's biggest supermarket chain with a market share of 33% as of 2019.
Tesco Clubcard is the loyalty card of British supermarket chain Tesco.
FreshDirect is an online grocery delivery service in the United States. Initially established in New York City, the company expanded to include much of the New York Metropolitan area as well as select counties in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and the Washington, DC metro area. However as of September 2022, they eliminated service to areas outside metro New York City. FreshDirect custom-packages groceries and meals for its customers using just-in-time manufacturing, a practice that reduces waste, and improves quality and freshness. The company offers its services via a website and mobile app.
Sainsbury's Online is an electronic commerce website operated by Sainsbury's, the UK's second largest supermarket chain. It offers a wide range of other products, including electronic goods, books and financial services.
TalkTalk TV Store was a UK-based transactional video-on-demand (VoD) service available on Macintosh and Microsoft Windows computers, games consoles, tablet computers and Smart TVs. Content is generally streamed, with downloading currently possible on Windows PC/laptops. The blinkbox brand had been extended to companion services offering digital music and books.
An online grocer is either a brick-and-mortar supermarket or grocery store that allows online ordering, or a standalone e-commerce service that includes grocery items. There is usually a delivery charge for this service. Brick-and-mortar supermarkets that have built internet channels to better service their clients are known as online grocers. Online grocery delivery services are available throughout Europe, Asia and North America, mostly in urban centers. The online ordering is done through e-commerce websites or mobile apps.
Coles Online is an online retail site worked by Coles Supermarkets. The administration offers a wide scope of ordinary basic food item items for buy by means of the web and resulting home conveyance or "Click and Collect" areas. The administration is accessible to over 85% of the Australian populace.
The term dark store, dark shop, dark supermarket or dotcom centre refers to a retail outlet or distribution centre that exists exclusively for online shopping. A dark store is generally a large warehouse that can either be used to facilitate a "click-and-collect" service, where a customer collects an item they have ordered online, or as an order fulfillment platform for online sales. The format was initiated in the United Kingdom, and its popularity has also spread to France followed by the rest of the European Union and Russia, as well as to the United States.
Freshlocal Solutions Inc. is an online grocer, wholesale distributor, store operator and software licensing company based in Vancouver. The company was founded as Small Potatoes Urban Delivery in 1997. In September 2021 Freshlocal went under new executive leadership which resulted in key leadership changeover and in May 2022 it filled for Bankruptcy protection.
Tesco has expanded its operations from the United Kingdom to 11 other countries. Tesco pulled out of the United States in 2013, but continues to see growth elsewhere. Tesco's international expansion strategy has responded to the need to be sensitive to local expectations in other countries by entering into joint ventures with local partners, such as Samsung Group in South Korea, and Charoen Pokphand in Thailand, appointing a very high proportion of local personnel to management positions. It also makes small acquisitions as part of its strategy: for example, in its 2005/2006 financial year it made acquisitions in South Korea, one in Poland and one in Japan.
Instacart is an American company that operates a grocery delivery and pick-up service in the United States and Canada. The company offers its services via a website and mobile app. The service allows customers to order groceries from participating retailers with the shopping being done by a personal shopper.
Retail food delivery is a courier service in which a restaurant, store, or independent food-delivery company delivers food to a customer. An order is typically made either through a restaurant or grocer's website or mobile app, or through a food ordering company. The delivered items can include entrees, sides, drinks, desserts, or grocery items and are typically delivered in boxes or bags. The delivery person will normally drive a car, but in bigger cities where homes and restaurants are closer together, they may use bikes or motorized scooters.
Supermarket Direct was a pioneering online grocer, providing a home grocery shopping and delivery service in London from October 1995. The company sold Sainsbury's-provided groceries until it was bought by Somerfield and integrated into the Somerfield Direct home shopping service.
Shipt is an American delivery service owned by Target Corporation. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.