How Tesco is scaling multi-market research across Europe with Askable

Challenge: Scaling research across borders

Tesco's Clubcard loyalty program dominates the UK market. As Serkan Ayan explains, "Tesco club card has over 15 million active users" with "more than 80% household penetration." However, when Tesco decided to replicate their successful UK app consolidation in Central Europe, merging three separate apps into one unified experience across the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, the challenge became more complex. Tesco needed to deeply understand customers and their experiences across these diverse regions which meant complex research operations.

"Before Askable in Central Europe, we were using multiple agencies."

This fragmented approach meant limited oversight into costs or timelines, no way to verify quality in Czech, Slovak, or Hungarian languages, and weeks of coordination for single studies. Each agency operated differently, used inconsistent methodologies, and delivered varying quality levels. 

Finding the right participants across all three regions proved equally challenging. Tesco tested several recruitment tools, but none could consistently deliver the right quality or local relevance. Managing multiple agencies only added complexity, with limited visibility into costs, timelines, and participant quality across Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian markets. The stakes were significant. Tesco had successfully consolidated their UK apps, maintaining user retention while simplifying the customer journey.

Solution: One platform, total control

Tesco's first priority was accessing verified participants across Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. Askable's active recruitment team delivered 97.8% participant attendance, compared to the 60% typical show rates from third-party panel providers. The recruitment team actively sourced participants matching Tesco's exact specifications, from demographic requirements to shopping behaviors, ensuring quota fulfillment across all three regions without managing multiple local vendors.

"It's really easy to manage. All the methods are laid out in front of us."

The transformation was immediate. Complete dashboard visibility replaced previous coordination challenges, showing participant confirmation rates, demographic breakdowns, and study timelines in real-time. Research that previously took 8 weeks now launched in days. Translation costs that once ballooned budgets were built into the platform. Operational expenses consolidated into one predictable cost structure.

Having established confidence with participant quality, Tesco expanded into Askable's Project Delivery product. "Now that we've built confidence with those profiles, the next step for us is to use Certified Researcher."

Askable's Certified Researchers are native speakers who understand cultural nuances that automated translation misses. They conduct end-to-end research in each market, handling everything from study design through final insights delivery, reducing research completion time from 8 weeks to 2 weeks. The shift freed Tesco's team to focus on implementation rather than coordination.

What distinguished Askable wasn't just the 75% time reduction or unified platform efficiency. When challenges arose during implementation, multiple team members reached out proactively, creating a true partnership rather than a vendor relationship.

Impact: Faster, smarter research at scale

"The impact of Askable as a platform has been a big one." The operational improvements enabled strategic transformation. Research that previously took 8 weeks now happened 2 weeks. Costs became predictable. Quality became consistent.

More importantly, the insights gathered directly shaped Tesco's app consolidation strategy. Understanding how Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian customers differed from UK users allowed Tesco to adapt their approach while maintaining core functionality. The research revealed which features needed localization versus standardization, which user behaviors were universal versus market-specific, and how to communicate changes effectively in each language.

"We already have good feedback from our stakeholders who are really happy with the output of these studies."

Product teams that once waited 8 weeks for insights now received actionable recommendations in 14 days. The 4x increase in research velocity meant features could be tested and validated within single sprint cycles. 

The success created momentum. Other Tesco divisions began expressing interest in the platform, recognizing how unified research infrastructure could transform their own market understanding. What started as solving a Central European challenge affecting 2.5 million users was becoming an enterprise-wide opportunity that could impact Tesco's full 15 million digital customer base.

"Given the fact that whatever we are doing touches the lives of millions of people every day, I think it's just fantastic and it's a great opportunity and I'm really feeling blessed to be a part of it," Serkan reflects. The research directly impacts how millions of customers across Europe experience Tesco digitally.

Looking Ahead: Expanding research excellence across Europe

Tesco's relationship with Askable continues expanding. Having proven the model across three markets, they're now exploring Insight Streams for continuous generative research and expanding Project Delivery to run new projects.

The Central European success has become a template for Tesco's global expansion strategy. Each new market benefits from the research infrastructure and institutional knowledge built through Askable.

"I believe it'll only get better," Serkan says. The partnership has fundamentally transformed how Tesco approaches international research, from fragmented and reactive to unified and strategic.