Tesco today said its online grocery service continued to “outperform the market” as it reported a 1.8% rise in group sales in the first quarter of its financial year but a dip in UK like-for-like sales.
Reporting a 1% rise in sales in the UK, excluding VAT and petrol, and a 1% fall in UK like-for-like sales, excluding VAT and petrol, in a first quarter interim management statement, the supermarket said ecommerce was helping it to gain ground in its customers’ eyes.
Chief executive Philip Clarke said: “Customer perceptions are improving across all aspects of the shopping trip in the UK, driven by continued progress on our plans to Build a Better Tesco and our market-leading multichannel offer.
“We have set out our plans to put customers back at the heart of the way we do business and this is particularly evident in our recent initiatives on price and on food trust.”
The company also said that its online sales growth continued to outperform the market, itself the fastest growing sales channel in the market.
“We have continued to strengthen our offer for customers and have driven further improvements in product availability, product quality and overall customer satisfaction,” the supermarket said.
Recent multichannel developments include the roll-out of new drive-through locations for Click and Collect, with 169 now in place across the UK.
The company also said that international markets remained challenging, particularly in Europe.
