tesco direct - Internet Marketing News and Blogs

Yesterday’s papers were full of talk about plans by Tesco to grow its online empire and cause even larger headaches for online retailers in the UK.

Both the Observer and Mail on Sunday report that the supermarket giant is set to announce its long-anticipated move into the online clothing sector – one it has been planning since last year.

Tesco reported a 5.9% rise in its Christmas profits yesterday, ahead of forecasts, which the company has attributed to a strong online performance, as well as increased sales of organic foods.

Meanwhile, DSG Group, which owns Curry's and PC World, seems to be on track having reshuffled its multichannel brands last year, with online sales more than doubling as a result.

Asda, the UK’s second largest supermarket chain, is to massively expand its etailing capacity after admitting it underestimated demand for online shopping.

The Wal-Mart-owned group wants to regain ground on arch-rival Tesco, which dominates the online grocery space.

Tesco reportedly plans to begin selling clothes over the internet next year via its non-food etailer, Tesco Direct.

Tesco has posted a 28.7% rise in sales at its online division, with revenues coming in at £554m in the first half of this year.

The supermarket giant, which dominates the UK’s online grocery sector, said profit at Tesco.com increased 43.1% to £33.8m, excluding the launch costs of its non-food operation Tesco Direct.

Not content with 30% of the UK retail market and a huge lead in the online grocery sector, Tesco has announced an aggressive drive into home shopping for non-food products.

In what is seen as a major challenge to Argos, the retailer is preparing to launch an internet and catalogue service that will offer customers a range of 8,000 goods.