Tesco wants 10 percent share of financial market

It has been reported that the supermarket giant Tesco is looking to take a 10 percent share of the financial market as it continues its launch into retail banking. Over the years Tesco, like a number of other leading supermarkets, has broken into a range of different fields, and retail banking is something that Tesco has been looking into breaking into for some time.

In 2008 Tesco revealed its plans to break into retail banking, and this decision was welcomed by many given the problems that had arisen with traditional High Street banking giants. Last year saw the supermarket rebrand its Tesco Personal Finance brand to Tesco Bank in preparation for the move.

Already Tesco is now enjoying a reputation as the UK’s largest supermarket bank, and has around six million customers using a range of around twenty eight financial products ranging from loans and credit cards to insurance services. The supermarket wants to extend these services and build upon a customer base in current accounts, mortgages, and other financial products.

If Tesco does manage to reach its goal of taking a 10 percent share of the financial market it will be on level pegging with Abbey, which was recently renamed Santander after being taken over by the Spanish banking giant.

Officials have said that the fact that Tesco is a household name puts it in an excellent position to enter into the banking sector, as consumer confidence in its services may already be high. The move for a greater number of entrants into the banking sector is also something that is being encouraged by the government.

Many people have lost confidence in the traditional banking system over the past couple of years, and this could spell good news for new entrants to the market such as Tesco.

Tags: tesco, supermarket bank, Tesco Bank, retail banking, financial products

Consumers more satisfied with discount retailers than major supermarkets

Over the past couple of years discount supermarkets have become increasingly popular amongst consumers, and this is due to the financial problems that many households have faced, which has forced them to seek out ways in which they can save money on their monthly outgoings such as their shopping bills.

Many have started to use discount supermarkets in addition to or instead of the major supermarket giants, and a recent poll has shown that customers seem to be more satisfied with these discount stores compared to the supermarket giants.

A recent report has shown that when it comes to the affections of customers, discount stores such as Lidl and Aldi have rated higher than the big name supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Asda. The measure of customer satisfaction showed that the discount retailers managed to score an impressive 61 percent in terms of customer satisfaction. The big name supermarkets, on the other hand, did not do as well.

Asda and Tesco both scored less than 50 percent in the customer satisfaction polls, and the most popular of the supermarket chains, Sainsbury’s, only scored 58 percent which was still less than the discount supermarkets.

Waitrose fared better than the discount stores, scoring an impressive 79 percent when it came to customer satisfaction levels. The study was carried out by consumer campaign group Which? and involved looking at areas such as staff attitudes, prices, and choice.

A spokesperson for Which? stated: ‘The success of some budget supermarkets in our survey proves that savvy shoppers can make the most of their money without compromising on quality. UK shoppers want the whole package – great value for money, a wide range of quality products and a pleasant shopping environment. It’s not rocket science, but those supermarkets that consistently get it wrong should beware – shoppers will vote with their feet and take their business elsewhere.’

Tags: Waitrose, sainsburys, Asda, business, quality products, discount supermarkets, supermarket, Aldi, supermarket chains

Retail giant may move into banking

Over recent years a number of well known retailers and supermarket giants have started offering various financial services, such as insurance services, credit cards, and even loans. Marks and Spencer, for example, has its own M&S Money sector and supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco have been offering financial products for some time. One supermarket giant, Tesco, has recently announced that it is moving into the banking sector through offering full banking services, which will be rolled out over the course of this year. Read more

Tags: financial products, tesco, Sainsbury, supermarket giants, insurance services, car insurance, Financial services

Supermarket hopes to cut food waste with special offers

One leading UK supermarket is hoping that it can allow its customers to save money on their shopping whilst cutting back on food wastage through the launch of a new offer that is to run over the next couple of weeks. Read more

Tags: Economy of the United Kingdom, food waste, tesco, United Kingdom, food wastage

Look out for the new BOGOF deal from Tesco

As a nation Brits are suckers for special deals in supermarkets, and many of us are guilty of buying something that we didn’t even actually need simply because it was on special offer. Amongst the various offers that supermarkets have launched in the past are half price goods and buy one get one free deals, and both of these prove hugely popular amongst consumers. Read more

Tags: tesco, buy one get one free, special offers, money saving, shopping, bogof

Oxfam branded the ‘Tesco of the book industry’

Charity shop Oxfam has come under fire recently by a number of specialist and small book sellers, who claim that the charity is putting them out of business. Read more

Tags: high street shops, supermarkets, tesco, book stores, problem, oxfam, second-hand booksellers

Tesco lost out to supermarket giants over Christmas

One of the leading supermarkets in the UK has admitted that over the Christmas period it lost out to its rival supermarket giants, with the weakest sales growth in nearly two decades. In the run up to Christmas sales levels for Tesco only went up by around 2.5 percent, which was far less than its rival supermarkets. Read more

Tags: year, British Retail Consortium, tesco, sales figures, supermarkets, interest, torrid, price

Supermarket giants try to entice customers back

With food prices having soared out of control, in addition to the range of other hikes in bills and living costs, many people have been struggling to make ends meet when it comes to the household budget. Consumers have tried to make a range of cutbacks in order to try and make their money stretch further, and for many this has meant switching from the more expensive supermarket giants such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Morrison’s, and turning to discount grocery stores such as Aldi, Netto, and Lidl. Read more

Tags: recent additions, supermarkets, price, credit crunch, Retailing, tesco, Asda, official

Supermarkets branch out to car insurance

Over recent years supermarket giants in the UK have branched out enormously and in addition to offering groceries and household goods many have also been offering a wide range of financial products, such as loans, credit cards, insurance products and even banking facilities.

According to a recent report, Tesco has now gone a step further and has launched a price comparison website for those looking for deals on car insurance in the UK.

There are already a rising number of price comparison websites in operation for car insurance, and Tesco will be joining this long line of comparison sites with its news venture Tesco Compare.com, which has been launched in conjunction with the Royal Bank of Scotland. The site will be launched in mid-September, but consumers should be aware that there will be a limited number of insurance companies that are used in the comparison, which totals around twenty in all.

As has been the trend in other sectors, this move by Tesco could result in other supermarket giants also setting up similar sites, which means that the huge number of price comparison sites could balloon even further in the near future. As with other price comparison sites customers will be able to enter their details into the Tesco website in order to search for the best deal on car insurance, but this will be from between the companies listed by Tesco.

Amongst the insurance companies that will be listed are some RBS ones, including Churchill, and consumers are reminded that because of the limited number of insurance companies that will be listed there could be better deals available from other insurance companies that are not listed on the Tesco site. 

Tom Smith
20th September 2007

Tags: compare, personal, comparisons, tesco, price, brokers, finance, site, car

Important documents ‘left languishing in drawers’

Brits are leaving their home insurance documents unread and have no idea of what they are covered for or the terms of their contract, according to new research.

Tesco Home Insurance has found that a third of homeowners in the UK leave their insurance documents languishing in a drawer with 41 per cent of them saying they have no idea of their content cover limit, despite this having massive repercussions in the case of a theft.

You should always make sure that any precious articles in your home are specified in your contract if they are above your insurer’s individual article limit. And always tot up how much all your possessions are worth so you do not become underinsured.

“We would urge all homeowners to read through their documents to familiarise themselves with the terms and conditions of the policy they have purchased. If they are unsure of any points, they should contact their insurer for clarification,” said Allan Burns, from Tesco Home Insurance.

He said another thing Brits may want to consider is family legal protection cover and accidental damage cover for any accident-prone people.

Tags: theft, Financial services, drawer, tesco, content cover limit

UK consumers should compare contents insurance policies

With experts advising UK consumers to ensure that they have adequate contents insurance cover over the festive period, which is when there is an increased risk of accidents, damage, and theft, Insurancewide.com has now added an additional warning – that consumers thinking of taking out cover to protect their contents should be careful when it comes to companies offering special Christmas and festive deals and discounts on cover.

According to Insurancewide.com there are a number of companies that are offering a range of offers on contents insurance cover over the coming Christmas and new year period, with some offers that include increased cover over the festive period at no extra cost, as well as Christmas discounts on contents insurance policies. Amongst the companies offering special deals on contents insurance cover over the Christmas and New Year period are American Express and Tesco.

However, Insurancewide experts have advised consumers to ensure that they look carefully at any policy before making a firm commitment, no matter how tempting the short term special offer may be. A spokesperson for the company stated that those looking to purchase contents insurance need to make sure that the policy they go for continues to benefit them after the festive period is over, making it suitable for the long term rather than just on a short term basis. This means reading the small print on policies as well as comparing the different policies and deals on offer.

James Harrison, chief executive of Insurancewide, stated: “It’s great that insurers are remaining competitive and offering their customers a chance to save money. But we urge people to pay close attention to the increase in the sum insured, to compare like with like, watch out for unexpected policy exclusions and check other insurers’ offers according to their precise needs before being lured by advertising campaigns.”

Tags: winter, theft, Insurance, tesco, christmas, buildings, american express, specials, contents, home