Strong online sales growth helped Tesco see off the worst of the
poor Christmas trading conditions.
The retail giant reported today that its UK sales were up 2.5%
in the seven weeks to 10 January, compared to the previous quarter.
This was supported by an increase of 18% in total sales by Tesco
Direct and tesco.com. The sales are now worth £273m to the
company.
The chain boosted its profits with strong international growth,
as it continues to expand into countries such as India.
Tesco was one of the first supermarkets to move into online
retailing, ensuring it got a large
share of the market early on.
But recent improvements from companies such as
Sainsbury's means competition in the online grocery sector is
growing.
The company said in its trading statement, "Online sales were
very strong in the run-up to Christmas and tesco.com and Tesco
Direct combined saw total sales up by more than 18% to £273m in the
seven weeks."