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Tesco promises to keep improving the customer experience

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Tesco today said it would keep improving the customer experience in the second half of its financial year, as it explained how it had gone about boosting productivity and profitability in its business in the first half.

The multichannel supermarket said it had made good progress on its three key strategic priorities – to restore competitiveness in the UK business, strengthen the balance sheet and rebuild trust and transparency. Following a strategic review, it has decided not to sell its dunnhumby data business, which underpins the pioneering Tesco Clubcard loyalty scheme.

“The progress we have made so far, combined with improved productivity as we continue our work to simplify our ranges, will enable us to fund further improvements for customers in the second half,” it said in its interim results statement.

Dave Lewis, chief executive of the supermarket, which sells online and through stores in the UK and around the world, said: “We have delivered an unprecedented level of change in our business over the last twelve months and it is working. The first half results show sustained improvement across a broad range of key indicators.

“In the UK, we continue to improve all aspects of our offer for customers, resulting in volume growth which is allowing us to create a virtuous circle of investment.”

But while most retailers use their financial results to inform investors about online and multichannel progress, this set of results had no mention for ecommerce. Neither was it mentioned in an accompanying video webcast.

The results come just over a year since a £263m accounting error was revealed in Tesco’s results that led an unduly optimistic profits forecast for last year’s interim results.

Today Tesco reported first-half group revenues of £23.9bn, down by 1.9% compared to the £24.3m reported at the same time last year. Pre-tax profits of £74m in the six months to August 29 were well ahead of the loss of £19m reported at this time last year. But when one-off exceptional items and pension finance costs were taken into account, pre-tax profits of £158m were 74.3% down on the £614m reported last time.

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