Internet Retail: The Tesco Booker deal, seen from a multichannel angle

Iona Carter, director at Shoppercentric, said: “What this certainly reflects is Tesco’s recognition that grocery shopping habits are changing: big shopping trips are in decline, as shoppers increasingly either drop them completely or move them online; conversely, smaller basket shopping trips are on the increase – which is where the convenience sector can cash in. Extending its reach into this channel by supplying the independent sector can only be a good thing – they will cease to become competitors in the traditional sense. It is also a lower risk foray into the out of home channel – but it will be interesting to see how the fortunes of this channel will play out in the Brexit climate as consumers and shoppers start to tighten their belts once more.”