Tesco joins Internet café society

Tesco, the UK’s biggest supermarket chain, is launching a network of in-store Internet cafés to “give people a feel for the Internet”. A consultancy has not yet been appointed to develop the cafés.

A Tesco spokesman confirms that “we are going to do it” though there are no definite plans about the number of outlets or where they will be. He believes the cafés will build on the success of the existing Tesco website, which was established in July 1998 and created by Designer City.

“TescoNet is going very well, but there is still a large proportion of people who are curious about the Internet. They are put off by big computer brands and have a fear of the technology,” he explains.

The supermarket could not confirm whether customers would have to pay for the new in-store sites or if it would be tied in with the loyalty card schemes.