Tesco has become the latest retailer to launch an online marketplace.
Customers can now buy 10,000 products from third parties on Tesco.com, from homeware and garden furniture to toys, pet accessories and spirits.
In launching its online marketplace, Tesco follows the likes of B&Q, Debenhams, Superdrug and The Range, which have also adopted Amazon and eBay’s marketplace model.
Read on to find out what kind of products you can buy on Tesco Marketplace, how its prices compare, and the potential issues you should be aware of.
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How Tesco Marketplace works
Like Amazon, Tesco.com is now a hybrid marketplace: as well as offering its own products and selling branded goods itself, it hosts third-party retailers selling everything from air fryers to dog prams.
Tesco Marketplace products appear alongside its own. So when you search for a toaster, the product results page includes Tesco own-brand, Russell Hobbs and Breville (which it sells directly), plus Homcom kettle and toaster sets sold by a third party.
You can tell which are third-party products by the Marketplace badge above the thumbnail image on the results page. The seller is listed under the product name. For example, the Homcom kettle and toaster sets are ‘sold and sent by MH Star UK Ltd’.
If you add a Tesco own-brand toaster to your basket, it’ll be delivered with your groceries. But when you add a third-party product, it’s listed in a new basket, incurs a separate delivery fee and is dispatched by the third-party seller.
Some online marketplaces, including eBay and Amazon, offer refund guarantees if an item arrives faulty or damaged or isn’t delivered at all, but Tesco doesn’t officially offer anything like this. Nor does it website and app have an inbuilt dispute resolution system, so you must contact the seller directly if you have an issue with a third-party product.
According to its terms and conditions, Tesco takes no responsibility for delivery issues, returns, refunds or complaints about Marketplace items. However, it told us it will assist with resolving issues if you're unhappy with the marketplace seller's response, including offering refunds.
- Find out more:best and worst supermarkets for online and in-store shopping
What kind of third-party products is Tesco.com selling?
The Tesco website states that its Marketplace is a ‘new and exciting way to shop directly with 100s of trusted brand partners’.
In fact, when we checked on 5 June, there were only 18 third-party sellers on Tesco.com, compared to more than 1,000 on B&Q Marketplace and 1,500 on Debenhams.com. Among them are homeware, gardening, electricals, pet, toy, baby product suppliers and brands including Charles Bentley, Petlife and Tommee Tippee.
Between them, though, these third-party sellers are listing 10,000 branded products ranging from greetings cards to DIY materials.
- Find out more:best furniture, homeware and DIY shops
Is Tesco Marketplace cheaper than other websites?
We spot-checked the cost of a handful of marketplace items on Tesco.com and other shopping websites that stocked the same products, and found Tesco’s prices were generally competitive, but it’s always worth shopping around.
A five-piece Outsunny garden dining set cost £190 on Tesco.com, which was less than on B&Q, Debenhams and The Range’s websites (all of which were charging £206). However, it was £17 cheaper at Robert Dyas, where it was on sale for £173 (reduced from £252).
A black Homcom kettle and toaster set cost less on seven other websites. At discount retailer Wowcher it was £49 – £26 cheaper than Tesco.com (£75).
There’s a fee of up to £3 for standard delivery of Marketplace items under £50 by post or courier, and free delivery on orders over £50. You can’t collect or buy Marketplace products from Tesco stores. The delivery fee for heavy or bulky items is up to £10.
Clubcard holders collect one point for every £1 they spend on Marketplace items. You can’t spend Clubcard vouchers on third-party products, though Tesco says it’s ‘hoping to make this possible soon’.
- Find out more:loyalty cards compared
What’s the return and refunds process for Tesco Marketplace items?
When you buy a third-party item from Tesco.com, you have a 30-day window to request a return from the date of delivery. You do this by finding your receipt in the My Orders section of the website or app and clicking on ‘return products’.
The third-party retailer will then let you know how to return the product, which must be sent back to them. All its marketplace sellers offer free returns. You can’t return Marketplace items to Tesco stores (unlike online purchases of its own products).
If an item is damaged, faulty or doesn’t arrive at all, customers must contact the third-party retailer directly to arrange a refund or replacement. Their contact numbers and websites are listed on the Tesco website.
When you buy from a marketplace, your consumer rights are the same as if you’d made a purchase from any online shop.
- Find out more:your consumer rights when you buy goods online
The rise of retailer-operated marketplaces
Increasing numbers of traditional retailers are turning their online shops into marketplaces, which allows them to expand their product range at little cost and net a commission on every sale.
DIY store B&Q now lists more than 1.2m third-party products in addition to its own products, while department store-turned-marketplace Debenhams has more than 3m. The Superdrug website offers 10,000 beauty and health products sold by third parties.
French and US retail giants Carrefour and Walmart have also adopted marketplace models.
Tesco’s first attempt at a marketplace, the loss-making clothing and homeware website Tesco Direct, closed in 2018, with the company saying there was no prospect of it becoming profitable.
- Find out more:how to get the best price when shopping online
Which? investigations into online marketplaces
Online marketplaces do not have the same responsibilities as high street or regular online retailers for the safety of the products sold on their sites. Which? investigations have repeatedly found unsafe products appearing on these platforms.
Earlier this year Which? warned against the risks of buying unbranded electronics after we found a presented a risk of electric shock, fire and explosion. Seven identical-looking heaters from eBay, Amazon, Wish.com were also found to be unsafe.
So far, Tesco’s third-party sellers are all established UK-based suppliers, but it’s still worth checking reviews on Google and Trustpilot. Lots of Tesco.com third-party products are available on other shopping websites, so you can check customer feedback as well as prices.
Which? is calling on the next government to hold marketplaces to the same standards as traditional retailers and place a legal duty on these platforms to prevent the sale of dangerous products.
- Find out more:how to shop safely on online marketplaces
