The elimination of Tesco Direct, the portal for safe shopping online that was axed in 2018, is being cited as the culprit behind new figures published by the supermarket giant which show a fall in sales growth, according to Internet Retailing.

While there was a seven per cent uptick in e-commerce grocery sales in past three months via the firm’s standard site, the loss of Tesco Direct meant that this expansion was at a lower than expected rate.

Tough conditions in the UK’s wider retail market meant that sales across Tesco’s various platforms dipped by almost half a per cent, equating to £9.1 billion spent in total.

There was some good news, with Tesco confirming that it had seen a record-breaking day for sales over the Easter weekend this year, following up from a strong festive period.

Company spokesperson Dave Lewis pointed out further positive aspects of Tesco’s performance so far in 2019, including its Clubcard-related promotions which allowed loyal customers to claim discounts above and beyond those available to non-members.

Even so, it is interesting to see that the closure of a key online shopping element of the supermarket’s services has led to issues with securing sales growth, pointing to the likelihood that customers were still keen to take advantage of the platform even if it was not quite as successful as executives had hoped.

Going forward, the new consolidated online offering from Tesco will presumably take up the slack and generate further sales growth, encompassing both grocery products and general consumer goods. The rising threat posed by Amazon, which is seeking to slip into the UK’s grocery delivery market more decisively at the moment, will no doubt be on the radar of Tesco decision-makers and its loyal customers alike.