Tesco brings hybrid e-commerce service to America

Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - 16:02 by Sarah Collinson

Tesco has already had success with its Click & Collect service here in the UK, but the company has recently announced that it is going to be introducing this type of e-commerce option to customers in the US.

While Tesco is not a big brand in its own right stateside, it does have control of the Fresh & Easy chain of supermarkets, which will be used as the launch pad for Click & Collect.

This type of shopping online allows customers to organise the items they want to buy using their computer or smartphone and then head down to collect them from their local store, avoiding the hassle of putting products in the basket or queuing up to bag everything at the checkout.

Tesco CEO, Philip Clarke, said that the Click & Collect trial will begin soon, with roll-out expected to begin before the end of the year.

Some industry insiders are slightly sceptical about Tesco's ability to compete in this area, because major rival, Walmart, has already established comprehensive tools for safe shopping online, combined with in-store collection in America.

Fresh & Easy has yet to turn a profit for Tesco in the US, although it is beginning to apply some of the knowledge gained in the UK market to its American operations, as the Clubcard scheme has been introduced for customers of this chain.v

Tesco is one of the many major high street retailers that has been having a tough time in recent months in the UK and there were indications that it would be scaling back its overseas operations, to focus on the home market. However, by improving its stakes in the American online shopping market, it will stand to make significant gains, as long as the implementation is deftly handled.v