UK Supermarket Tesco is set to follow in the footsteps of Starbucks, McDonalds and other chains in offering free in-store Wi-Fi.
Tesco will become the first major UK supermarket to offer Wi-Fi connectivity to its customers, in a move which their new CEO Philip Clarke hopes will expand the company’s growth.
The supermarket look set to join the online revolution over the next year or so with Wi-Fi networks being added to stores gradually across the country. Tescos’ Chief Information Officer, Mike McNamara, is overseeing the whole move to make sure everything goes smoothly.
“You can stand Canute-like and pretend nothing is happening . . . or you can say it’s happening, and I am going to help it happen” he said.
We feel that more supermarkets should offer Wi-Fi connectivity in-store, especially the larger ones which have cafes and such. The ability to browse the web, read your email or download an e-book or app while sitting in the supermarket’s cafe would be great, and could keep customers in store for longer.
Four stores will be trialling the new Wi-Fi initiative, with a full rollout to all capable stores expected to take place towards the end of the year.
Tesco aren’t schmucks though, and you won’t get away with taking advantage of their generosity to download to your heart’s content. McNamara says “if you sit there streaming video forever, we may switch it off”.
What would you use Wi-Fi for while doing your shopping?
Via: Pocket-Lint