Tuesday 13 October 2026 · 3 min read
Tesco's growth is in speed and small upgrades
Tesco reported its half-year results last Thursday. Its core UK business grew 1.5% like-for-like, but the numbers show much faster growth at the edges.
Whoosh, its rapid delivery service, grew 37% and is on course for more than £500m of sales this year. Online grocery was up 8%, even though non-food online fell in September. The premium Finest range grew 9%.
That fits what other data has been showing. Shoppers pay for convenience when it saves them a trip, which is what Ocado's long run of fast growth has been telling us. And they'll trade up a little on the things they care about: in September, NIQ found "all natural" impulse products growing 9.4%, against 5.4% for impulse overall.
The retailer now picks which deal you see
I also noticed Tesco is extending Your Clubcard Prices with AI personalisation, so members get deals picked for them. That's the next stage of the deal-led loyalty I wrote about in the 22 September issue. If shoppers are waiting for brands to go on offer, the retailer that decides which offer you see has a lot of power.
Tesco called consumer confidence "relatively resilient" over the half. That was before the BRC's September survey showed expectations slipping, so I'll be watching what it says at Christmas.
Overheard this week
“Our focus remains on helping customers get the best possible value from their weekly shop.”
He was speaking on Tesco's half-year results. Value usually gets read as price. But Tesco's fastest growth came from Whoosh, up 37%, where shoppers pay extra for speed. For some, time saved is value too.
Also worth knowing
Tesco is now on Uber Eats and Deliveroo. Tesco said the new partnerships extend its rapid delivery reach beyond its own Whoosh app.
Tesco Media keeps growing. The retailer's advertising business attracted new advertisers in the six months to 29 August, another sign that more brand budget is going to the retailer's own channels.
The Budget is two weeks away. It's on Wednesday 28 October, and every survey this month suggests people are waiting to see it before they commit to big spending.
Coming up
Tuesday 13 October: Barclays and BRC-KPMG for September; Worldpanel and NIQ grocery figures
Wednesday 21 October: ONS inflation for September
Friday 23 October: ONS retail sales for September
Wednesday 28 October: the Budget
That's it for this week. Reply and tell me what you're seeing.
Chris