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 reshaped the manner in which customers shop,” Drewe told us.

“All but a few no longer want to shop odd hours of the night... and the need to venture out and shop at early morning hours has decreased” as work trends have shifted.

Then, there’s the internet to consider. 

“With next-day or even same-day delivery options like Amazon Fresh or Tesco Deliveries, individuals no longer need to venture out at 2 am for milk,” Seitam said.

“Online platforms handle what used to be impulse buys, so 24-hour stores are no longer required.” 

Mostly, both experts agree, it boils down to the bottom line. 

“Having a store open 24/7 [though in the UK they have to limit their hours on Sunday] increases the need for labour, security, and energy expenses,” Drewe added.

“Without someone who is making nighttime or early-morning purchases, you cannot have sales to offset the cost.” 

Indeed Tesco’s ex-chief executive Dave Lewis told the Financial Time Future Forum in 2021 that their huge 24-hour stores “sell very little during the night.” 

And “there’s the challenge of restocking and cleaning when customers are still walking through the aisles” to think about too, Seitam shared. 

Still, people miss the institutions 

Logical as the reduced hours might be, many of us miss a 3am mosey ’round a Big Tesco’s homewares aisle. 

The 24-hour feature “used to be a late-night lifesaver,” Redditor u/tirerunona wrote. “Now it’s all 6am to midnight.”

“I miss 24-hour supermarkets too,” u/Big-Scallion3644 commented.

“The Tesco in my town used to be open 24 hours a day. I would go in there after a night shift and there would be a few staff stocking the shelves, get my shopping and be one of the only customers. I remember having to find someone to put my shopping through the till.” 

Another site user was less sentimental: “Here we have fuck all choice post-midnight,” u/Berookes said.