Tesco sees e-commerce surge

Tesco, Britain's biggest supermarket, isn't doing bad in the online sales arena.

The company Monday reported its Web sales were up ten-fold over a year ago, though overall sales were lacklustre. After reporting 10 percent growth in the third quarter, compared to the same quarter a year ago, Tesco shares dropped about two percent to around 170-1/2 pence.

The company, like its competitors, is finding it rough going in an atmosphere of grocery price deflation. But Tesco has moved forward in online commerce with grocery delivery and in-store shopping terminals.

Consumer online spending in Britain trebled in 1999, according to a study by consultants Ernst & Young, with British households spending £695m on the Web.

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