By Chanel Smith (@PYMNTS_EMEA)
In recent years, grocery retailers in the UK have aggressively pushed their way into the online realm and have expanded their Internet presence through a multitude of strategies.
Tesco, the third-largest grocer in the world according to sales, revealed its latest game plan to enter the tablet market, which it hopes will help to increase the company’s online sales, reported The Wall Street Journal. The budget tablet, called Hudl, is an Android device that will rival Apple’s iPad, and will ideally help Tesco to grow its presently limited but growing online content.
According to the Telegraph, Tesco’s tablet is expected to be launched early next week, and will be sold at a suggested retail price of £129. The supermarket’s foray into the tablet sector is reminiscent of past strategies executed by other big retailers, namely Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Both companies developed proprietary mobile tablets in an effort to motivate consumers to shop online more widely with them.
The Wall Street Journal reported that analysts presume that Tesco’s new tablet will include the retailer’s online shopping mobile application, along with heavy promotions, customer discounts and loyalty program incentives.
In 2011, Tesco acquired Blinkbox’s video and movie services that enabled music-streaming and digital-book capabilities. Additionally, Tesco acquired Clubcard TV – a web-based video program that collects customer data to help develop targeted advertising. Analysts predict that these services will be featured onto the Hudl.
Tesco is hopeful that the initiative will help further cement the grocer’s position in the UK eCommerce market. At present, the amount of online sales only accounts for a small chunk of the overall Internet grocer market, with 3.9 percent of sales completed through mobile devices and over the Internet, reported from a recent study: Ecommerce: The Internet Grocery Market, Market Report 2013.
Despite low figures, online sales have shown year-on-year growth since 2007, at time when online sales were just 2.1 percent. Moreover, IGD research has set high expectations for the online food and grocery market in the UK, and predicted that sales will more than double within the next five years.
The current trends in the market present a timely opportunity for Tesco to roll out its Hudl, and strengthen its online presence.
To read the article at WSJ click here.
Or to read the story The Telegraph click here.
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