The TescoNet Guide is well put together, managing to pack in information on what the Web is and how to send email in just a few pages. Best of all, though, is the extensive collection of links that Tesco provides, separating them into categories for ease of use along with short reviews. Geared towards a family audience, it avoids being patronising and goes some way to being `The Friendliest Service Provider on the Internet'.
New Media Age 9.7.98
 
Easily the best branded and most user-friendly site out of all those on test. If you didn't know Tesco before encountering this site, you would quickly get an idea of what it does and what it has to offer. Branding is good - right down to the little strawberry that automatically appears next to the URL in your browser. The whole site is designed to complement and extend what is available on the highstreet.
Revolution Magazine, UK
 
This must be one of the best examples of how the internet can save you time. In fact, this web site alone saves me at least one quarter of my weekend. With simple registration and quick links, I don't even have to miss out on any in-store promotions. And another reason why this web site is so good - you can't drink a Stella Artois and watch The Matrix while you are shopping in a real world Tesco.
Revolution Magazine, UK 21.3.01
 

Case Study - Tesco

First challenge
Winning the Tesco account was gargantuan both in terms of the physiological effect it had on Designercity and also in terms of the challenges that lay ahead.

One of the main attacks in the original pitch was that Tesco should create an 'own-branded' ISP. The reason for this was simple - the cost of acquiring potential grocery shoppers for Tesco Direct was going to be great so why not create a ready-made shopping community a year ahead of the grocery roll-out?

It's not often you can get excited about a banner campaign, but those crazy creatives at Designercity are pushing some hot buttons for Tesco Direct's Shopping Mall and banner respect is due. To hammer home an aggressive sales pitch in the process is close to excellence. This is not an airy fairy adland effort - it's shopping and then some. Triffic. Score 90/100
New Media Age 11.11.99
The strategy
Because grocery was still behind in the Internet shopping area, Designercity needed to create a positioning for TescoNet that would naturally evolve into shopping. At this stage very few people in the UK were online, so it was decided to make our ISP the easiest and friendliest way to get online and once achieved to make this the quickest way to learn what the Internet was all about.

The execution
Designercity were responsible for the creation of the brand, the design of the site and the pack which customers received as well as the point of promotions instore. All content within the site was commissioned and edited by us.

The result
TescoNet currently services over 450,000 users and recently won Marketing Week's 'Best use of brand in technology' award.

Designercity's quality of service and attention to detail, coupled with their flexibility, allowed us to launch a site that met all of our customers' needs. Their personal approach and dedication was second to none."
Jon Higgins, Internet Infrastructure Manager, Tesco

Second challenge
The next major challenge was to lay the path for a successful roll-out of the online grocery product.

The strategy
It was decided that the brand should remain Tesco Direct hence the overall business became tescodirect.com. Designercity were responsible for branding the entire business, encompassing everything from the site to the customer pack to the delivery vans seen out on the road. Even the slogan 'From Mouse to House' was created by Designercity!

The execution
In order to increase sales in the popular Homecare section, Designercity introduced the concept of step-by-step workshops for the home, offering users solutions to common household problems.

Designercity were also responsible for the creation of the project plan for non-food online shopping. This 'National Store' campaign would see Tesco launch shopping sites for: Books and Gifts, Electricals, Home, Music and Entertainment and Baby and Toddler. Designercity worked with both IBM and Grattan Home Shopping in the creation of 'National Store'.

The final goal of this three-year process was the amalgamation of the whole stable of Tesco sites into one Tesco portal - Tesco.com - which will provide users with a unique Tesco shopping experience.

The result
Tesco.com, which took its first order in December 1996, is now the third-largest retail portal in the UK, beaten only by Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com, according to the Nielsen ratings quoted by Tesco. Sales in 2000 is estimated at about GBP250m - up from GBP125m in 1999.

According to a report by ZDNet UK News in October 2000: Tesco is taking 60,000 online grocery orders a week making it the world's largest Internet food shopping service. The home delivery service is raking in a massive GBP5m a week, whilst other UK supermarket chains have had to bow out of their Internet offerings.

In the first half of 2001, Tesco.com in total achieved sales of ¢G146m up 77% on last year. Grocery homeshopping made good profits and has made excellent progress and it now reaches 94% of the UK population.

Tesco coming to Asia
Grocery e-tailer Tesco.com might soon be delivering shopping to doorsteps in Seoul, chief executive officer John Browett told a retail conference on Tuesday March 6, 2000 - as reported by the Guardian newspaper in the UK.

The group already has hypermarkets in Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and South Korea, but online operations only in Britain and Ireland. Tesco continues to research other international opportunities including China and Japan.

"Clearly we want to take the model international. We have already taken it to Ireland," Mr Browett told the conference. He added that Korea and even the US might be next.

 
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