As anyone who has recently started a new job will tell you, in your first few weeks you’re constantly being asked ‘how are you getting on?’ and ‘what’s it like?’

The answer to the first question is easy. My first few weeks at Tesco have been great. But I thought I’d take this opportunity to share my first impressions and answer the second question in a little more detail.

I’ve been particularly struck by the collaborative approach at Tesco. I’ve also found the people here to be really positive thinkers and very much open to new ideas. The company is also very ambitious and not afraid to take calculated risks, which makes it an empowering and exhilarating place to work.

Tesco is a great company with successful businesses around the world. Lots of retailers say they want to be the leading multichannel retailer, whereas at Tesco we can really deliver on that ambition. For me to be part of the team that can make that happen is really exciting: the opportunity is enormous.

Being multichannel is all about being customer focused and truly putting the customer first. We are well positioned to succeed in multichannel as Tesco has always been, and continues to be, a very customer focused business.

Sometimes people think multichannel is just another word for internet retailing, but it’s about so much more than this. We’re focused on creating truly compelling experiences for our customers whatever the channel or format – whether that is through Click & Collect, Giraffe, or the roll out of our online grocery delivery service toall our markets. So our stores are absolutely central to our multichannel plans. That’s why we’re refreshing and remodelling our existing space, making sure that our stores are relevant and built around customers’ behaviour and expectations.

Helped by Dunnhumby’s insight, we’re focused on constantly innovating to offer our customers what they want, when, where and how they want it. The experience needs to be seamless irrespective of how they engage with us. Of course that’s easier to say than do but we know where we need to get to and it’s within our control to achieve it. 

With the rise of the internet the customer really is in control and their expectations are changing so fast. Back in 1999 at Amazon we used to get letters from customers along the lines of ‘I ordered a book, it showed up, that’s amazing!’ 14 years later I think we all know that customer expectations have moved on somewhat. 

In fact, this pace of change is getting quicker and quicker all the time particularly in areas like personalisation or the use of social media. Many innovations which have previously seemed a little ‘star trek’ up to now are becoming reality and are adding real value for customers. Who could have imagined just a few years ago that augmented reality would be used in Tesco stores?

One of the most exciting developments in multichannel is going to be mobile. Every year since 1999 was going to be the year of the mobile. In 2010 it probably finally was, but even then retailers were only thinking about how to sell from a mobile device. It was a very transactional relationship.

Subsequently, retailers have started to experiment with mobile and tablets as customer engagement devices. Some have started integrating loyalty schemes and trialled various methods for interaction in the physical environment, but as an industry, we have barely scratched the surface.

Customers have a relationship with their mobile phones and tablets that is closer and more intimate than any other technology. It’s powerful technology too and through harnessing it we will be able to offer a truly personalised, location aware experience that will genuinely add value for customers.

This will be through the whole journey from inspiration, discovery, research, the purchase decision and ultimately payment as well – across all channels. It will be transformational for all of retail, not just online – it will change the whole shopping experience.

Mobile is also challenging many traditional ways of thinking, for example, our whole design philosophy is changing so that instead of designing for traditional keyboard and mouse based interactions, we design for touch first. Beyond the UK, in many countries, customers will skip the PC era and go straight to mobile so this truly will transform the entire shopping experience worldwide.

Taken from Tesco’s Talking Shop