The best innovations stem from customer needs
People only come back when the service really works, says Phil Bennett, Tesco’s Head of Online Business for Central Europe in an interview conducted in collaboration with the Global Minds project.
In the Czech Republic, the trend for online shopping took hold later than, for example, in the UK market; however, once Czechs became familiar with its benefits, they quickly began to make use of this sales channel. According to Phil Bennett, Tesco’s Head of Online Business for Central Europe, this reflects the practical nature of Czech customers. „Czech customers are very pragmatic. They like convenience, but they also look closely at price, quality and whether the service works consistently. There is still a sense of momentum and discovery here, which makes the Czech and Central European markets very exciting,“ he says.
What are the most critical challenges that the retail sector currently faces?
Retail is going through a lot of change, but a lot of it comes back to one thing. Customers are expecting more. They want good value, products to be available, shopping to be convenient and the experience to feel easy, whether they are in a store or ordering online. At the same time, retailers are dealing with higher costs and changing habits, while still needing to keep investing for the future. The real challenge is how we keep improving for customers while keeping the experience and our operations as simple as possible.
Changes are also occurring on the demand side. Which trends in customer requirements have you noticed?
Customers are much more flexible in how they shop now. It is not just one big weekly shop anymore. People are mixing different missions depending on the week, whether that is a bigger planned shop, a quick top-up, fresh food for dinner, or picking up something on the way home. What matters is that shopping fits around real life. Customers want convenience, but they are not compromising on the basics. They still expect good value, strong availability, quality fresh food and a shopping experience that feels easy and dependable. If retailers can get those basics right consistently, customers are much more likely to trust them and come back.
Brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce are two separate worlds with their own rules. Tesco bets on both channels. Can meaningful synergies be found between them?
I understand why they can look like separate worlds, but from a customer point of view they are becoming much more connected. Customers move between stores and online very naturally, so our job is to make that feel joined up. In the UK, online grocery is already a very established habit, while in the Czech Republic I have seen how much familiarity and trust still matter when customers decide to shop online. Our stores are hugely important in that, not only because many customers still love shopping in them, but because they help us serve online customers too. In many ways, stores act as local micro-fulfillment hubs for Online, bringing products closer to customers and helping us offer a more convenient service. By using our store network well, we can support fulfillment across the country and make the economics of omnichannel retail more attractive. The best opportunities are where the channels work together and make each other stronger.
The popularity of online grocery shopping is growing among customers. Is this purely due to the ease and convenience of such shopping, or are there other factors at play?
Convenience is a big part of the appeal. For many people, online grocery simply takes some of the pressure out of the week. You can plan properly, avoid an extra trip, and make sure the basics are covered without having to build your day around the shop. But customers will only come back if the service really works for them. The website or app needs to be easy, the range and freshness need to be right, and delivery or collection needs to be reliable. When all of that comes together, online shopping becomes less of a novelty and more of a useful habit.
What percentage of your total grocery sales in the Czech Republic is generated online?
Online is still a single-digit share of total grocery sales in the Czech Republic, but it is growing strongly and we see significant further potential. The important point is that the growth has to be healthy. It is not just about chasing a number or moving sales from one channel to another. It is about building a service that customers trust, enjoy using and want to come back to. If we do that well, the growth follows for the right reasons.
Czechs are among the biggest fans of online grocery shopping within the EU. How do they compare to your home market in the UK?
The UK is a more mature online grocery market, and Tesco was one of the early pioneers of online grocery in Europe. UK customers have had many years to build habits and expectations around the service, so for many households it feels very normal. What I have really enjoyed in the Czech Republic is seeing how quickly customers adopt online shopping when the proposition feels practical, reliable and good value. Czech customers are very pragmatic. They like convenience, but they also look closely at price, quality and whether the service works consistently. There is still a sense of momentum and discovery here, which makes the Czech and Central European markets very exciting.
What do you consider key to increasing the share of online sales? And is it even desirable?
It starts with making online feel genuinely useful for customers. If the availability is good, the prices are fair, delivery slots are flexible and product quality is trusted, people start to see it as a service that really helps them. Coming from the UK, I have seen how online can become a normal part of household routines. In the Czech Republic, it feels like that habit is still building, which creates significant potential. However, the aim should not be to maximize one channel at the expense of another. Growth should reflect genuine customer demand and be sustainable over the long term. For an omnichannel retailer, that is where stores can be a real strength, because we can use our estate, people and supply chain well rather than simply adding cost somewhere else. The aim should always be more choice for customers, not pushing them from one channel to another for the sake of it.
Building customer loyalty is a common corporate strategy today, which often involves expanding into other sectors outside the core business. Is Tesco planning to broaden its customer offering in this regard?
There are lots of ways to think about loyalty, but from my perspective the starting point is still the core customer experience. That means easier access, better choice, stronger convenience and a service that people feel is worth coming back to. Tesco already has examples of serving customers beyond traditional grocery, such as Tesco Mobile, and there are other parts of the Tesco offer, such as F&F, where digital can play a useful role. But I think loyalty is built less by adding lots of things around the edges and more by customers feeling that we understand their lives and help make them a little easier.
Today's fast-paced environment demands constant innovation. What is the main driver of innovation in retail?
The main driver should always be the customer. Technology is important, and data helps us understand behavior much better, but innovation only matters if it solves a real problem. In retail, the best ideas are often quite simple. They make something faster, easier, more reliable or better value. If an innovation does not make the customer experience better, then it can very quickly become a distraction.
So do innovations at Tesco stem directly from customers’ needs?
I think the best innovations usually start with customers rather than with technology. Customers are very good at showing us where the friction is, even if they do not describe it in those terms. Sometimes they tell us directly through feedback, and we can also learn from aggregated shopping patterns and how customers use the service. Our job is to listen carefully, test things properly and stay honest about whether an idea really makes life easier. Not every improvement needs to be big or flashy. Quite often, the most valuable changes are the small ones that take hassle out of the weekly shop.
What benefits do different online order fulfillment models bring to customers?
I think it comes down to the fact that people shop online for different reasons at different moments. Sometimes it is the planned weekly shop, where range, value and a dependable delivery slot matter most. Other times it is more of a top-up, where speed and flexibility become more important. Collection has its place too, because some customers like ordering online but still want to pick up at a time that fits naturally into their day. But across all of those moments, reliability is what customers remember. The last mile is where the whole service becomes real for them, which is why a strong delivery partner matters so much. If the order arrives on time, in good condition and without fuss, customers remember that and they come back.
Do you anticipate that brick-and-mortar stores will eventually phase out and disappear entirely, or will they remain with us for decades to come?
I think stores will continue to be a very important part of grocery retail for a long time. They will continue to evolve, of course, but people still want to see fresh products, shop spontaneously and be inspired by what is in front of them. At the same time, stores can play a bigger role in supporting online services, especially where the store network is strong. I think the future is much more likely to be a better combination of channels than one replacing the other.
Do you prefer shopping in a brick-and-mortar store or online?
I use both, and living in Central Prague has made me appreciate that balance even more. There are weeks when online is exactly what I need, especially with a busy diary, and then there are times when I will walk through the city, stop somewhere on the way home and buy something simply because it looks good. That mix of practicality and spontaneity feels very real for customers here, and I am the same. It really depends on the moment!
Phillip Bennett
Born in the United States, raised in England and now calling Prague home, Phillip Bennett has spent more than 16 years helping shape the future of online retail. As Head of Online Business for Tesco Central Europe, he leads the company's online grocery business across the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.
Phillip joined Tesco in 2009, attracted by a business that was already pioneering e-commerce at scale. Over the years, he has held leadership roles in the UK and Central Europe across within Tesco’s Grocery and Non-food businesses witnessing first-hand the transformation of online grocery from a niche proposition into an essential part of everyday life.
Having lived in Prague for the past seven years, Phillip has developed a deep appreciation for Central European culture, history and way of life. Outside work, he enjoys travelling, exploring the Czech countryside and wine regions.
You can read the Czech version of the article HERE.
