As customers and retailers look across all touchpoints rather than siloed channels, so IR retailer reviews look at the entire retailer’s eco-system of website, mobile, the use of digital in store and their overall strategy. Longer in-depth analysis of the four areas can be viewed online at www.internetretailing.net. This issue our reviewers examine Tesco.
RETAIL STRATEGY 25/25
Emma Robertson, Managing Director, Transform
Digitally, Tesco has talked multichannel for a long time, but hasn’t been able to make the seamless links between channels and propositions work from a customer perspective. In fact, over the past 5 years new ventures and propositions have made it harder rather than easier to join up the experience. At a fundamental level, the grocer fails to join up sales of grocery and non-food product; the customer proposition at the heart of the launch of Tesco Direct back in 2006. If you then add in customer expectations around Tesco mobile and Tesco bank, also not connected digitally, the customer experience of dealing with Tesco as an organisation decrements more.
Now it’s important to be realistic. No-one is yet delivering on this nirvana of seamless integration, and certainly not within a business as complex as Tesco. The point is that if focus and consolidation are the heart of the new strategy, then Tesco’s digital strategy would do well to echo it. Creating excellent, effective and expectation-beating experiences across its core business would be transformational for both the market, and the retailer’s fortunes within it.
WEB EFFECTIVENESS 16.5/25
Jessica Cameron, User Experience Consultant, User Vision
Tesco’s website makes it easy for customers to complete their grocery shopping online. The search functionality is the element of the experience that really shines, with a useful multiple item search and consistently relevant results. Visitors may be forced into relying on this feature, however, as navigation around the site is hampered by poorly labelled categories and incomplete filtering options. More descriptive category labels and links between different sections of the website would make shopping easier, and could also entice customers into adding even more to their shopping baskets.
MOBILE 19/25
Rob Thurner, Managing Partner, Burn The Sky
After nosying around both the Tesco mobile website and the Tesco Groceries app for Android, we’re confident the retailer’s digital offering is still in order. It delivered continuity – with items in our shopping basket accessible across both digital channels – Clubcard integration, cross-device UX consistency and even a barcode scanner. So, despite Tesco’s recent troubles, the grocer continues to lead the pack when it comes to mobile website experience. However, it’s not yet gold stars all around; the app layout at sub-category level feels like it would benefit from some TLC – every little helps.
INTERNET RETAILING IN STORe 16/25
Louise garvin, consulting manager, JAVELIN group
As a leader in the online grocery market Tesco’s digital and operational strengths are evident with key digital interaction points such as Click & Collect for F&F and GM relatively well established. The Tesco turnaround is underway and trials and tests appear to be carving out the way forward for future digital interactions in stores. Digital is visibly at the heart of the thinking with plans to overhaul store wifi and plans to quadruple the amount of access points, but in practical terms, how the customer experience will evolve appears to be in trial mode.
