Tesco to end Loop trial
29 July 2022Loop has announced that its one-year trial with Tesco is set to end.
Announcing the trial’s end Loop said that:
Tesco has decided to end the trial to reflect on the insights collected. This means the reuse area will soon be removed from your Tesco store.
Customers with Loop packaging have until 31 October to return their packaging to one of its return points.
Loop highlights positive customer response
Loop said the results of the trial had been ‘very encouraging’ and that ‘the majority of customers highlighted their appetite to see our scheme develop’. When it introduced the trial Tesco said it would help it ‘learn what works and what doesn’t and to adapt’. With Tesco launching Better Baskets and scaling up other sustainability initiatives, it will be interesting to see what it has learnt from the trial, which may come back into store in the future.
How did Loop work in-store?
On our visits to trial stores, the Loop fixture was not always easy to find, with limited signage for shoppers who were unaware of what it was. While there was a Loop collection point at the front of stores, visibility of the solution was not high, making it harder for potentially interested shoppers to look to discover more about it.
The challenge of attracting new shoppers to the scheme could have also been affected by the cost-of-living crisis. Shoppers had a to put down a deposit on each piece of reusable packaging they used, with the cost varying depending on the product. While shoppers would get their deposit back, some may have felt unable or unwilling to pay the deposit.
What next for similar solutions?
The move to limiting packaging and getting shoppers to bring their own packaging to stores is going to be a journey for retailers, suppliers, and shoppers alike. In the short-term shoppers will have to be convinced of the role they will have to play in this. Our ShopperVista research, subscribers can access the Do it for me: help me live sustainably report, showed that 49% of shoppers agreed that it was the retailer’s responsibility to only sell sustainable products, not their responsibility to only buy them.
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