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Tesco Direct to charge for smaller Click & Collect orders

From February 2nd there's a two pound surcharge.

Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty Images

If you frequently pop into Tesco, or one just happens to be close to your home, Click & Collect can be a compelling proposition. Instead of waiting in the house for a delivery truck, you can pick up your online orders at a time that's convenient for you. However, one aspect of Tesco's service is about to get a little more expensive. From February 2nd Click & Collect orders under £30 from Tesco Direct, its site for non-food products, will come with a £2 surcharge. It falls in line with Grocery Click & Collect, which already charges (typically £4) for orders under £40.

Why the change? Tesco says it's to ensure the service "remains sustainable for the future." In other words, to make sure it's not losing money in the process. Part of Click & Collect's appeal, at least for Tesco, is to get people back in its stores, where they might want to pick up a few extra items. Such footfall and resulting business can be hard to quantify, but clearly the sales haven't been enough to offset the running costs of Click & Collect. Two pounds isn't an enormous charge, but it could quickly add up if you've been using the service to order and retrieve lots of smaller orders.