Tesco 'Calls Time' On 24-Hour Store Shopping

Tesco (Xetra: 852647 - news) is ending round-the-clock opening at almost 20% of its 24-hour stores as demand for night-time shopping wanes and online purchasing grows.

The country's largest grocery chain said there would be a "minimal" impact on jobs as a result of its decision to limit trading hours from 6am to midnight at 76 of its 400 24-hour stores.

The move was to take effect from 14 March, Tesco said.

:: See The List Of Affected Stores Here

Tesco said: "The move to reduce hours means more Tesco colleague time will be freed up to replenish products on the shelves overnight, which will mean better availability of products and better looking stores when they open their doors to customers each morning."

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) argued that it was being "responsive" to the way customers wanted to shop and making "more efficient use of Tesco time and resources", resulting in savings which could be passed on to customers at the check-out.

Tony Hoggett, the company's retail director, said: "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."

The UK's grocery industry remains locked in a fierce price war as they battle the march to heavy discounters such as Aldi and Lidl.

Despite the 'big four' enjoying a stronger Christmas season, they remain under pressure to cut costs and enhance their offerings to lure back shoppers amid an erosion in their market shares.

While Tesco continues to dominate, its business was previously dented by a lack of investment in its stores as it spent aggressively abroad and on meeting changing shopping habits - including a greater focus on convenience.

It was accused of taking its eye off the ball in its core market as sales fell, allowing competitors to steal a march on it.

UK like-for-like sales rose 1.3% in the six weeks to 9 January compared to the previous year, handing its new chief executive Dave Lewis a morale boost following a torrid tenure dominated by legacy issues since he took the role.

He is still handling the fallout from the FTSE 100 firm's massive profits' overstatement which has left it facing the prospect of action by shareholders and forced Tesco to completely overhaul the way it handles its suppliers (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) .