Tesco has conducted a detailed review of Tesco Direct, its non-food website, and has concluded that, despite its best efforts, there is no route to profitability for this small, loss-making part of the business.

Tesco Direct will cease trading on 9 July 2018 and, as part of this, the intention is to close the fulfilment centre at Fenny Lock which handles Tesco Direct orders, putting 500 jobs at risk of redundancy.

CEO of Tesco UK & ROI, Charles Wilson said: "We want to offer our customers the ability to buy groceries and non-food products in one place and that’s why we are focusing our investment into one online platform.

"This decision has been a very difficult one to make, but it is an essential step towards establishing a more sustainable non-food offer and growing our business for the future.”

Tesco has said it remains committed to bringing a compelling range of general merchandise to its customers, both in-store and online at Tesco.com. The comp[any has said it is Tesco’s ambition to create a simpler online experience for customers, allowing them to purchase general merchandise, clothing and groceries all in one place.