Tesco has recorded its highest ever customer satisfaction score, with UK NPS at 33 — up three points year on year — as CEO Ken Murphy bets on an element of "surprise" to carry the brand through the golden quarter.

The supermarket's group like-for-like sales rose 1% year on year in its interim results, while adjusted operating profit climbed 6.3% at constant rates to £1.8bn. Market share stands at 27.8% at the top of the Worldpanel UK charts, up 23bps over two years and 113bps over four.

What does 'surprise' mean for the Tesco brand?

Murphy told Marketing Week on a call with media on 8 October that the brand platform 'Need anything from Tesco', launched in March, is central to that strategy.

"What we really wanted to do [when we launched the brand platform] is make 'Every Little Helps' come to life for customers and really mean something," he said. "The brand platform of 'Need anything from Tesco' is really designed to surprise customers with little moments where they can rely on Tesco to meet those needs, whatever those needs are."

The platform works alongside Tesco's community outreach, including its free fruit and veg scheme for schools. Murphy said the team is "trying to bring the brand to life in every aspect of what Tesco does" and how it "influences life in the communities" it serves.

Value remains the other pillar. Murphy claims Tesco is the "cheapest full-line grocer in the UK", a position he attributes to having "sharpened its value position".

How is Tesco gearing up for Christmas?

Murphy said the brand will stand out by "increasing its buys on all the key Christmas lines", because he believes "customers are really going to want to celebrate". Value, innovation and quality remain the priorities for the quarter as Tesco looks to "deliver in a comprehensive way".

"We will be gearing up to make sure we deliver it [Christmas] in a really friendly and helpful way, with a consistent, high quality satisfaction score in terms of our on-time delivery service, availability in shops, and the shopability of our shops," he said.

Where is the growth coming from?

Food remains the "core business". Murphy said the growth strategy "begins and ends in winning in food". The numbers behind that:

• UK food like-for-like sales up 2.4%, supported by over 800 new and improved products
• Tesco Finest sales up 8.9% in the UK and almost 13% overall, expected to exceed £3bn this year
• UK online market share of 36.7%, with UK online sales up 8.4%
• Whoosh delivery now covering 75% of UK households
• Your Clubcard Prices, powered by Tesco's AI partnership with Adobe, offered to around 2.5 million customers

Not every division is growing. Tesco repositioned its F&F clothing and home business this year, yet like-for-like sales declined 0.6% against what Murphy called a "subdued" backdrop. He sees an opportunity to extend Tesco's "usefulness to the customer base through other missions", including convenience, quick commerce and categories such as clothing and home.

Can Tesco keep gaining share?

Murphy dismissed the notion that Tesco has peaked, even as talk of a Sainsbury's Morrisons merger circulated earlier this week.

"I was told six years ago that we had topped out and life was over for Tesco. In the last four years, we've grown share by 113 basis points, which I think most people have been surprised by. So, we like to surprise people. We have a great team in it that runs a great brand, and we're very proud of it. So, we have an ambition to keep on growing," he said.

The business is on track to deliver its £500m Save to Invest target for the full year, with group adjusted operating profit expected between £3.15bn and £3.30bn, versus the projected £3bn to £3.3bn in April 2026.