Tesco brings drive-though shopping across the Pond

Tesco’s drive-through shopping service comes as no surprise - Tesco is a great innovator (or very good at borrowing ideas from elsewhere) and we as a nation are following our chums across the Atlantic in expressing a liking for doing things in our cars.

Whether it’s dogging, buying a cup of coffee or a Big Mac, or collecting a prescription, the British public shows worrying signs of over-fondness for completing tasks while sitting down with the engine running.

We have a long way to go before we reach the near genius of the drive-through cash points and libraries that I’ve spotted in Arkansas, but Tesco - along with Boots, Starbucks and McDonald’s - is tapping into the fact that UK shoppers are increasingly time-poor and, let’s face it, increasingly bone idle.

Tesco’s service has been designed by its online business and is intended to appeal to those who are too busy to wait in for a two-hour delivery slot, but happy to visit their local store at a designated time and have their shipping loaded into their boot for a modest fee.

If successful, the pilot scheme will be extended into Essex (where staff will need special training for loading groceries into the boots of souped-up Ford Escorts with tinted windows) and then be rolled out.

Tesco is not alone in introducing such a service. The US supermarkets Publix and Weis have pioneered a similar kerbside offering, while the Sears/Kmart offshoot MyGofer also provides the service for US shoppers. Closer to home, Auchan has been expanding its chain of Auchandrive and Chronodrive stores, the latter dedicated to this type of service.

As with pure ecommerce, there are some concerns that shoppers will be more likely to adhere to list-based shopping and not indulge in impulse buys. By choosing to purchase online and collecting in-store, Tesco will miss out on shoppers lobbing a pair of jeans or widescreen TV into their trolleys.

All in all, though, the concept looks good considering the minimal cost of implementation along with the significant benefit to customers. All we need now is Sonic Drive-In to cross the pond and our car-based lives will be complete.

Bryan Roberts is global research director at Planet Retail