How Tesco is Transforming Digital Experiences at Scale
British multinational grocery store
Every day, millions of customers interact with Tesco's digital platforms—from online grocery shopping to Clubcard services and product browsing. Behind these interactions is a carefully crafted user experience refined through Optimal's comprehensive platform, enabling Tesco to create intuitive, user-centric digital experiences across their complex retail ecosystem.
Challenge: Optimizing Multi-Channel Digital Experiences
Tesco faced significant challenges managing their diverse digital infrastructure spanning consumer-facing websites, employee tools, and loyalty programs across global markets. With distinct user groups having unique needs, Tesco needed to develop intuitive navigation systems that would serve each audience effectively while maintaining consistency across their expanding digital portfolio.
Additionally, the company needed to optimize both customer-facing platforms and internal employee tools—ensuring streamlined experiences that could directly impact operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, and sales performance.
Solution: Engineering User-Centered Digital Journeys
Tesco implemented Optimal's platform to tackle these information architecture and design challenges systematically:
- For consumer website navigation, Tesco conducted multiple iterations of tree testing and A/B testing to evaluate how customers navigate product categories, with particular focus on the Tech & Gaming subsection. This approach helped them understand how shoppers conceptualize product hierarchies and locate items during their shopping journey.
- For the Clubcard loyalty program, Tesco leveraged A/B testing to refine the Clubcard website design, ensuring members could efficiently access rewards and program benefits.
- For core retail sections, Tesco utilized tree testing on critical website areas including F&F Clothing, Home, and Entertainment, ensuring product categorization aligned with customer mental models.
- For store employees, Tesco conducted first-click testing to assess new digital tools, including a "gap scanner" application used on handheld devices, gathering insights from 67 participants to improve usability for frontline staff.
- For internal support, Tesco evaluated the information architecture of their Help Office system through tree testing, ensuring employees could quickly access critical operational information.
Results: Digital Experiences That Deliver
Tesco's strategic application of Optimal's platform delivered substantial improvements:
- Multiple iterations of A/B testing for homepage navigation layouts transformed the customer entry experience, resulting in more efficient shopping journeys and reduced abandonment rates.
- The Clubcard website design testing across three studies established a more intuitive loyalty platform, increasing member engagement and program utilization.
- First-click testing of employee tools like the "gap scanner" and waste management applications revealed critical insights about how staff interact with operational technology, leading to redesigned interfaces that improved in-store efficiency.
- Qualitative Insights sessions examining the Grocery Home Shopping system informed significant improvements to the online grocery experience.
Accelerating Toward Excellence
Tesco's investment in user insight continues to yield ongoing benefits:
- The refined website structures have enhanced self-service capabilities, reducing support inquiries while improving customer satisfaction across digital touchpoints.
- Internal platform improvements through the "My Tesco" redesign have created more efficient employee experiences, contributing to better-equipped staff and improved operational performance.
- Continuous refinement of digital journeys has established a culture of evidence-based improvement, where user feedback directly shapes platform evolution.
- Comprehensive testing across both customer and employee experiences has created holistic insights that drive integrated improvements throughout Tesco's digital ecosystem.
By transforming how users interact with their digital platforms, Tesco didn't just solve operational problems—they created a sustainable business advantage that elevates the entire retail experience, strengthens customer loyalty, and establishes new performance benchmarks across the retail sector.
Want to learn how you can get started gathering meaningful user insight with Optimal? Reach out to us today.
