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Tesco
poised to offer WAP home shopping
Primary
Topic: E-Marketing
Title:
Tesco poised to offer WAP home shopping
Source:
From Precision
Marketing, 13 November 2000, News, by Clive Walker
Summary:
Tesco
is raising the stakes in the battle to dominate UK online
grocery sales, by positioning itself as the only major supermarket
to offer WAP home shopping.
The
service, scheduled to launch late next summer, will enable
consumers to buy groceries and household goods, order flowers
and request advance daily bulletins alerting them to special
deals.
The
service will also supply news headlines, weather forecasts
and share prices as mobile phone text messages.
In
the interim, Tesco is offering customers bespoke handsets
with speed-dial links to its customer services department
and the home shopping website, www.tesco direct.com, but
shopping is restricted to homewares.
"Running
our own network will give Tesco the freedom to create a
service that is, for the first time, precisely tailored
to customers," says Tesco chief executive, Terry Leahy.
"Tesco wants to become the first point of contact for customers'
daily needs - we believe that in the future, the phone will
be a popular way to shop."
Tesco
Direct, which embraces catalogue, web and phone channels,
boasts 750,000 registered users, and is open to 90 per cent
of UK shoppers.
Questions:
- The
advent of WAP technology opens a new marketing channel
for e-marketers. What are the perceived benefits and limitations
of this service for the customer?
- What
types of consumers do you think Tesco is targeting with
this service?
- Tesco
has invested heavily in its direct services such as catalogues,
online shopping site, customer call centres and WAP. What
advantages does this variety of channels offer the high
street retailer?
To
read similar stories and to keep up-to-date with new developments,
visit mad.co.uk
for breaking news in marketing.
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