Tesco characterised its sales record as confirmation that Britain has now accepted on-line supermarket shopping as a normal part of day-to-day life. The company said in a statement: "In the past, there has been a feeling that there is no substitute for going to the shops for Christmas groceries and presents – but it looks like that attitude is a thing of the past".
By comparison, rival supermarket Sainsbury's, in the 28-week period ended 12th October, received an average of only 33,000 orders per week (a number of which were, presumably, from the same household).
The company expects its on-line shopping service to become profitable in the latter part of 2003 or early 2004, putting it even further behind the success of Tesco's on-line operation, which is already profitable, according to results released in April 2002.
