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Grocery chain Tesco suffers two-day outage following hack
UK grocery chain Tesco has faced outages for two days after hacks, leaving many unable to order food.
UK will ban mobile carriers from selling locked handsets in 2021
Mobile operators in the UK will be banned from selling smartphones locked to their networks, according to the regulator Ofcom.
After Math: Let's shake things up
As Anchorage, Alaska was being rocked by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake this week (which, as of the writing of this post, had thankfully only resulted in infrastructure damage and not any actual injuries), the tech industry was making major rumblings of its own. Tesco is teaming with VW to change how shoppers charge their cars, Lyft plans to triple the number of available CitiBikes, Fortnite continues to curbstomp its battle royale competition, and Microsoft (ever so briefly) stole the crown for "world's most valuable business" from Apple.
UK supermarket Tesco teams with VW to install 2,500 EV chargers
The UK's EV charging infrastructure is getting a huge boost courtesy of a new partnership between the country's biggest supermarket chain, Tesco, and Volkswagen. They're joining forces to install 2,500 charging bays at 600 Tesco stores by 2020. Customers will be able to charge their electric cars using a standard 7kW fast charger for free, or pay to use the 50kW charger. The charging bays will be installed by the UK's largest independent public charging network operator, Pod Point.
Coinbase users can convert crypto into gift cards
Coinbase announced today that it has teamed up with WeGift and customers in Europe and Australia will now be able to convert their cryptocurrency into e-gift cards. Gift cards are available for companies like Nike, Uber, Google Play, Ticketmaster and Tesco and Coinbase won't collect any withdrawal fees when users buy the gift cards with their cryptocurrency balances. Customers will also get bonus credit on some of their e-gift card purchases. Gift cards for Nike, Ticketmaster and Uber offer six percent, three percent and two percent bonuses, respectively, for example.
Tesco Direct to close as it falls to other online retailers
Online shop Tesco Direct -- the non-food outlet of British supermarket Tesco -- will close this summer. The store, which sells electronics, clothing, sports goods and video games has "no route to profitability" according to bosses. The site and its distribution center will close on July 9th, with 500 workers facing redundancy.
Tesco's mobile payments app is now called Pay+
Tesco's in-house mobile payment app PayQwiq has been around for a few years now, though it was only accepted in all Tesco stores from the beginning of this year. PayQwiq doesn't roll off the tongue all that well, but today it assumes a new name: Tesco Pay+. As always, the app functions as a virtual Clubcard and keeps a record of your receipts, but its main purpose is allowing you to brandish your phone at checkouts to pay for up to £250 of shopping with a tap.
Tesco's same-day grocery delivery option is going UK-wide
Tesco is today claiming a win over supermarket rivals and the logistical magicians at Amazon after kicking off the expansion of same-day grocery deliveries to cover the whole of the UK -- or 99 percent of households, at least. More than 300 stores are preparing to ship your weekly shop that very evening, provided you order before 1PM that is. There's no item limit, though the delivery fee can range from £3 to £8 unless you're a Delivery Saver member, who can enjoy the service free for a limited time.
Tesco adds Uber rewards as the Clubcard goes contactless
As reward programmes go, none come much bigger than the Tesco Clubcard. Now in its 23rd year, the UK supermarket giant's points scheme has more than 16.5 million customers, who typically carry their personalised card on their keyring. As rivals continue to undercut it on price, Tesco has incentivised customers to "boost" Clubcard points earned from their weekly shop by allocating them against purchases from over 400 "Reward Partners," which include tickets to theme parks, breakdown cover and car hire. From today, however, shoppers will have more even choice, with Uber and Hotels.com joining the scheme.
Tesco has a one-hour delivery service in London now, too
Tesco has today launched a new one-hour delivery option in London, after having been caught secretly testing the speedy service last month. Via the Tesco Now apps for iOS and Android, customers can order up to 20 products out of a 1000-strong selection from 8AM to 11PM (or from 9AM on weekends). For serious BBQ emergencies, you can ensure delivery within an hour for an £8 fee, or choose the two-hour option for £6 if you've still got a pack of sausages in the fridge. Within the app, you can also track the progress of the moped-riding Quiqup courier entrusted with your supplies.
Coming soon to Tesco: Currys PC World outlets
Tesco is already a solid if unspectacular seller of consumer tech, but a new partnership with Dixons Carphone looks set to take things up a notch. In an announcement today, the UK's biggest grocer confirmed it will open two Currys PC World outlets inside its stores, allowing shoppers to browse a selection of TVs, computers, white goods and accessories.
Amazon's checkout-less Go stores could be coming to the UK
Amazon's checkout-free grocery stores could be coming to the UK and Europe, if its recent intellectual property filings are anything to go by. Bloomberg reports that the retailer has successfully registered trademarks for slogans "No Lines. No Checkout. (No, Seriously.)" and "No Queue. No Checkout. (No, Seriously.)" with the UK Intellectual Property Office, hinting that it's already planning to its high-tech Amazon Go stores outside of the US.
Tesco is secretly testing one-hour shopping deliveries
It's no longer enough for supermarkets to offer online ordering and home deliveries. Amazon raised the bar two years ago with one-hour Prime Now grocery drop-offs, and since starting out in London, it's expanded to other cities while its product selection has grown. Sainsbury's was the first supermarket to rival Amazon in the capital, but it turns out that behind the scenes, Tesco has also been testing a one-hour delivery service of its own.
Tesco's mobile payment app is ready for everyone
To keep up in the supermarket wars, Tesco is rolling out support for its PayQwiq app nationwide. That means you can walk into any UK store, peruse the shelves for your weekly shop and then pay with the app at checkout. You can spend up to £250 in one sitting -- considerably more than a contactless card -- and get a copy of your receipt beamed across instantaneously. Better yet, your all-important Clubcard points will be calculated and banked automatically, removing the need to mess around with receipts. Yes, it's another app to keep on your smartphone, but if Tesco is your supermarket of choice it's probably worth checking out.
Tesco trials receipts sent directly to your smartphone
Some receipts are just about worth keeping -- you may have second thoughts on the fit of those new jeans, after all -- but the scrolls you receive at supermarket checkouts are basically just paper waste. Every under-the-kitchen-sink plastic bag has one of these unread companions, but things could get a bit lonelier under there if Tesco's latest tech trial is successful. At one store in Harlow, Essex, the supermarket is testing out a paperless receipt system that skips the printer and sends it straight to your phone instead.
Tesco Mobile will cut your bill if you agree to view ads
Smartphone contracts can be expensive, especially if you want a deal with a sizeable data allowance. To help you save money, Tesco is offering an unusual deal -- put up with ads on your lock screen and in exchange, you'll get £3 off your monthly bill. The offer is being handled by Unlockd, a startup that's already partnered with Boost Mobile, a subsidiary of Sprint in the US, and Lebara, a network in Australia. You simply download the Android app, log in with your Tesco account and set some preferences. An ad will then be shown "every few times" you unlock your phone.
HMV is closing the gap with Amazon in the UK
What a difference three years makes. HMV, a company that was teetering on the edge of closure three and a half years ago, has pushed past Tesco to become the UK's second biggest entertainment retailer behind Amazon. The company recorded a 2 percent rise in sales of CDs, DVDs and video games in the three months up to April 10th, giving it a 16.9 percent share of its domestic market versus Tesco's 16.1 percent and Amazon's 22 percent -- its best showing since it re-emerged from administration in January 2013.
TalkTalk relaunches TV Store with lowest price promise
TalkTalk may've already renamed the video streaming service it acquired from Tesco last summer, but today marks something of a formal relaunch. The TalkTalk TV Store, formerly known as Blinkbox under Tesco's wing, still serves exactly the same purpose. Like Amazon Instant Video, the Sky Store or Wuaki.tv, users can rent or buy movies and TV shows to watch on multiple devices, no subscription required. The most important change today is pricing, with TalkTalk now claiming to be the cheapest place to catch new releases like Star Wars: The Force Awakens. While that's technically true, TalkTalk has simply matched Amazon's pricing, so they share the title together.
Tesco Mobile scraps European roaming charges, for the summer
Next year, the European Commission will finally put an end to mobile roaming charges on the continent. Before that happens, the majority of carriers are following protocol and lowering fees for calls, texts and data, while others are scrapping them altogether. Following in the footsteps of Three, Tesco Mobile announced today that it will allow customers to use their existing plans when visiting 31 European countries.
Tesco now lets you automate your shopping with IFTTT
Now we're at the point where shopping for groceries no longer requires you to trudge down to the local supermarket, retailers are constantly working on new ways to make filling our baskets a little bit easier. For its latest trial, Tesco -- still the UK's largest supermarket despite mega financial setbacks -- has launched a new platform that lets you automate some of your shopping. It's teamed up with task-managing service IFTTT to roll out a bunch of new "recipes" that can automatically add items to your basket when prices drop or even when the weather is unexpectedly favourable.
