Tesco to provide free in-store Wifi

Supermarket chain Tesco is set to offer in-store Wifi to customers, according to a report.

The company told the Financial Times that the move was a response to changing customer habits. Shoppers were already checking rivals’ prices in store on their mobile devices, it said.

“You can stand Canute-like and pretend nothing is happening... or you can say it’s happening and I am going to help it happen,” Tesco chief information officer Mike McNamara told the newspaper.

Tesco is conducting a Wifi pilot in four stores, before rolling out the service more widely. McNamara said the company “may switch it off” if customers are found to be “streaming video forever”.