Tesco will reduce opening hours at 76 Tesco stores around the UK that have been open 24 hours a day. From next month they will close their doors to customers between midnight and 6am.
According to the retailer, the move means more Tesco staff will be freed up to replenish products on the shelves overnight, which will mean better availability of products and better-looking stores when open to customers each morning.
Tesco Retail Director Tony Hoggett says being responsive to the way customers want to shop in-store means making much more efficient use of Tesco time and resources, creating savings for the company that can be passed on to customers.
“We’re always thinking about how to serve our customers better in each of our stores and, with the growth of online grocery shopping, these stores saw very few customers during the night,” he said.
“It makes much more sense for colleagues at those stores to focus on replenishing the shelves instead and making sure they’re fully stocked when they open their doors at 6am.
“We’ll continue to make changes in-store in ways that will make shopping at Tesco a better experience for our customers, at the times they want to shop.”
The changes will take effect between March 14 and April 11 this year.
Tesco introduced 24-hour trading in 1996 and around 400 of its stores are open 24 hours a day.