Tesco sees its strongest Christmas for three years
The long-awaited Tesco trading statement was released today showing the company has experienced its strongest festive trading period for three years. Like-for-like sales, excluding petrol and VAT, increased by 4.9% in the six week period ended 9th January. This is a very credible performance and one which surprised many analysts on the up side. However, is there more to this figure than meets the eye?
As we have mentioned on numerous occasions, Tesco rolled out double points on its Clubcard loyalty scheme and also forwarded discount vouchers earlier than expected so that shoppers could take advantage of the festival offers. It is believed that Clubcard purchases themselves contributed around 0.7% to the growth in overall sales which perfectly illustrates the power of the loyalty card system currently in operation in the UK supermarket sector.
Interestingly Tesco also announced a 20% increase in like-for-like online sales during the same six-week period which again illustrates the changing trends in the UK consumer market where online purchases are becoming the norm. It will be interesting to see whether Tesco is able to expand its online operation because there are fears that the off-line supermarket sector is becoming too competitive and too overcrowded.
Share this..
Related stories
Stock markets concerned about immediate future of UK economy
The reaction to the 1.5% base rate reduction has been very mixed in the UK financial world with some investors happy to see the rate falls to the lowest for more than 50 years and others more concerned about the underlying reasons for the surprise drop. In many ways the surprise 1.5% fall has caused more concern than it has given comfort to markets around the world and in the UK. If the UK economy...
Read MoreUK construction sector mirrors concerns for the UK economy
The unprecedented increase in productivity between April and June, which saw British construction output increase by 8.5%, appears to be cooling with the latest purchasing managers index showing that this relatively high degree of growth has slowed markedly of late. Those involved with the industry believe that a significant reduction in house building since June is the major cause of the problem...
Read MoreUK Economy avoids triple-dip Recession
The UK economy avoided what would have been devastating news today, as first quarter growth of 0.3pc was reported, and a triple-dip recession avoided. A recession is confirmed when the economy experiences two consecutive periods of decline, and after a final quarter of 2012 growth figure of -0.3pc, any further decline would have officially seen the economy back in recession. The growth figur...
Read MoreWill the services sector push the UK economy back to boom times?
Yesterday's news that growth in UK services sector has increased to levels not seen 2007 bodes well for the immediate future of the UK economy. The services sector, which takes in everything from finance to restaurants, is the engine room of the UK economy and has been the backbone of the UK for many years. They were initial concerns that the services sector did not appear to be picking up as quic...
Read MoreWhy are banks so central to the UK economy?
If nothing else the last few months has shown how vital the UK banking network is to the UK economy and the prosperity of the UK population. But why is the UK banking sector so vital and what role does it really play in everyday life?
The UK banking sector offers the food which feeds the UK economy from both a business angle and a consumer angle. Businesses would find it very diffic...