Autumn 2006

Tesco's dramatic launch into the nationwide non-food home shopping market has created a buzz throughout the retail world. A representative from a rival supplier (who preferred not to be named) told us: "If it works, it will set the standard by which all other online retailers are judged."

Fulfilment and home delivery are central to the proposition. Key elements include nationwide two-hour delivery time slots, and a low delivery charge of just £4.85 for any size of order (plus £2 for a timed slot).

Over 8,000 non-food products are included in the service, ranging from homeware and electrical goods to bicycles and golf clubs. A new subsidiary web site offering the expanded range online went live in early September, and support from printed catalogues will follow.

TNT Home is providing two-man deliveries from warehouses in Leeds and Milton Keynes, while Home Delivery Network is providing one-man deliveries from bases in Daventry and Crewe. HDN is also delivering to 300 stores, and some items are reaching end users via the company's existing grocery delivery can fleet. Consumers can also order at selected stores and pick up from them.

When we closed for press, two-hour slots were being offered on some items, but only in "selected areas". The original promise was that this service would be available nationwide by November.

There have been inevitable murmurings of disbelief that Tesco will be able to pull off such an ambitious project, but arguably they underestimate the company's critical mass (it says it has three quarters of a million regular grocery home shoppers), as well as its determination to make the service work.