Tesco Extra entrance at night.

When I first moved to the UK, I landed in Southend and ended up walking a confusing, way-too-long route to that British institution, Big Tesco.

It was 4am. I could not believe such a place was open. I walked around its shiny lino floors, marvelling at the stringy bikinis hanging from plastic hangers ― what a mad country!, I thought, where you can buy beachwear after a night out!

I don’t know if that particular Tesco is still a 24-hour one (I guess its proximity to an airport might make it an exception), but it seems shops like it have declined since.

Shoppers have noticed, too: “What happened to 24-hour supermarkets?” a Redditor asked the members of r/AskUK.

So, I thought I’d ask Nick Drew, CEO and consumer trends expert at Wethrift, and Joosep Seitam, e-commerce expert and co-founder of Icecartel, what was going on.

Yup, the pandemic changed things

“The pandemic has........

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