Creating an Integrated Retail Experience for Tesco with E-commerce and Loyalty Apps

Background

Tesco is one of the largest multinational groceries and general merchandise retailers in the world. Headquartered in London, the organization has a retail presence in 11 countries and regional e-Commerce websites to serve their increasingly online audience. However, with customer behavior and preferences changing rapidly, Tesco wanted to offer their customers an easier way to shop – right from the palm of their hand. Zelusit’s engagement with Tesco started when Tesco Ireland identified a need for an e-Commerce app, which was then also adopted in other Tesco markets.

Tesco also has a successful loyalty program called Clubcard, which has long been a crucial marketing tool to help improve customer communication and retention. The program previously relied on physical cards, but as retail apps gained popularity, Zelusit created and deployed Clubcard apps for different markets, including Ireland, Thailand, Malaysia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary.

Our Solutions

E-commerce App

Zelusit developed a mobile application for Tesco Ireland that could securely collect data directly from their website without the need for a mobile API. Our parsing algorithm provides all the features of the website, and customers can navigate through the entire shopping process easily, just as they would on the website. The app adjusts perfectly to fit all smart devices, offering a seamless shopping experience.

The app offers a full portfolio of all the products on Tesco’s website, with simple and efficient filtering options for customers to quickly find the products they needed. With a personalized homepage for each customer, and capabilities for targeted push notifications and product suggestions, the app provides a customized, supportive shopping experience. Zelusit leveraged predictive analytics in combination with AI and Machine Learning technology to better understand customer behavior and tailor suggestions based on individual shopping patterns.

With the app, customers can search for products by category or price, book a delivery slot, and checkout and pay securely online, using their mobile device. Our solution works seamlessly on both iOS and Android platforms and has in-built accessible voice command capabilities. It also integrates with analytics tools, so that customer data can be easily analyzed and used for future business decision-making.

Loyalty App

Zelusit also helped take Tesco’s Clubcard loyalty program to the next level by developing a mobile application interface that every shopper can download and manage from their phone.

Tesco wanted to get more customer data to better understand shopping behavior, buying patterns by demographics, and improve the accuracy of their target personification. The app allows customers to add and manage personal information, such as address, email, birth date, and shopping preferences. They can also customize dashboards and add an avatar or picture for a more personalized experience.

Using the Clubcard app, customers can collect and keep track of loyalty points to redeem against future purchases. The app provides customers personal insight into their loyalty program journey, telling them how much they need to spend to get to the next tier. Tesco can collect individual purchase data and offer personalized rewards and offers based on each customer’s needs and wants. Customers can also redeem coupons and vouchers directly via the app, making the process faster and easier.

For Tesco, this KYC information has opened new avenues for micro-marketing, and they can now offer special promotions, such as birthday vouchers and exclusive coupons to Clubcard app users, allowing them to save both money and time. Communications can be sent to customers directly through the app, so customers can learn about promotions without logging on to the website, enticing them to make additional purchases. For an immersive experience, Tesco can also create countdown calendars in the app for festive occasions like Christmas and Easter, with related promotions and vouchers.

Zelusit’s solution includes an admin portal where Tesco employees can manage the loyalty program. With the portal, the admin can modify role setting (owner/partner/staff) to prevent unauthorized changes, manage personalized promotional events, push notifications, add new branches, and schedule content for future releases. Besides interacting with users, the admins can also view statistics for analysis, and filter parameters such as notification rates, customer segmentation, and patterns to effectively slice and dice their data for better insights.

The app also helps users find the nearest Tesco stores, create shopping lists, verify the availability of merchandise, and find the best time to shop at the store of their choice.

Impact

• 3x increase in e-Commerce revenue
• 70% conversion rate for push notifications
• 50% reduction in marketing costs

E-Commerce app

Nearly 70% of Tesco Ireland customers who visited the website also downloaded the e-Commerce app. The deployment of the app led to an increase in overall sales and repeat purchases, as customers had access to an additional engagement channel/touchpoint. Customers using the app spent 3 times more compared to users on the website.

The app enabled targeted, individualized promotions and content, which helped Tesco Ireland build loyalty. Over 12 million push notifications were sent to consumers per year, with a whopping 70% conversion rate, demonstrating the accuracy of targeting. Moreover, the app led to a 50% decrease in overall marketing costs, as push notifications reduced the need for promotion via other channels like SMS, email, and post.

By collecting data directly from the website, our solution helped Tesco save the time it would otherwise have taken to build and implement a mobile API. It provided customers a seamless shopping experience, where they could find the best deals, make changes to their order, make payments, and choose delivery times.

After its initial success in Ireland, similar apps were created for Tesco in 7 other countries, including Thailand, Malaysia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, and Turkey.

Loyalty app

The Clubcard app made it easier for customers to shop with Tesco, and take full advantage of personalized discounts, deals, and offers. Tesco’s digital user base has grown significantly, and the app-based loyalty program helped them improve customer retention. Customers could track their loyalty points, redeem vouchers, and get information on making their shopping experience fast and convenient.

For Tesco, the app presented a tremendous opportunity to collect data pertaining to customer demographics, buying behaviors, and patterns on an individual level. This data could then be used to further personalize rewards and offers, creating a feedback loop which helped enhance customer satisfaction and overall experience.

The Clubcard apps were customized for 7 different countries for an enhanced shopping experience, regardless of region and language.

Eight years since our first project, Zelusit and Tesco continue to work together seamlessly as a team to elevate the customer experience for Tesco shoppers.

Looking to digitize your retail business? Zelusit can help you design and implement innovative solutions to improve customer experience, back-end processes, and much more.