Tom Simmons

Current Role: Product Manager

Making 'get' and 'go' a reality

Learn how Tom helped us launch GetGo, the new checkout-free shopping experience. It’s designed to help our customers save time and skip the queues. Soon, you’ll be able to pop into a Tesco store and pick up a meal deal in seconds.

"GetGo is genuinely innovative, and that’s exciting. If I tell my mates what I do, they think, “Wow, that's cool”, and they want to know more. It’s exciting and piques people's interest. It's also very tangible, so they can imagine using it – and they can even try it out.

With GetGo, our customers can shop in our stores without having to use a checkout. We identify customers by using cameras to track body movements. But we don’t store any visual data, so we maintain privacy. We combine this insight with computer vision and shelf sensors to recognise which products they’ve picked up. Then, we take payments and send digital receipts through the Tesco app. Because there’s the product range you’d expect, there really is no compromise.

“If I tell my mates what I do, they think: Wow. That's cool.”

I'm one of two Product Managers for GetGo. Between us, we set the vision and direction. We decide what we’re going to build to make the experience better for customers. And we work with the experts around us to bring everyone together to achieve those goals. What I love most about my job is working with people who have expertise in all sorts of things I know nothing about. It’s very collaborative and a fun learning environment. You learn loads.

I have a marketing and communications background, and I wanted to work for a big, global name. That’s why I joined Tesco four years ago as a Communications Manager in Tesco Labs.

In fact, GetGo used to be a Tesco Labs project before it went live and transferred to the Store Customer Experience team. Eventually, I became a Product Manager on that same team, which meant I got to follow GetGo into the live environment.

“It’s very collaborative and a fun learning environment.”

We spent months testing GetGo before we were ready to launch, and we piloted a standalone GetGo store at High Holborn in Central London. That first day was memorable: watching the numbers tick up as people used it. We were sat in a big room, looking at the dashboard and checking messages from the store hosting the pilot. It was really exciting.

Since then, we’ve been working to make GetGo a choice for customers, launching several hybrid stores where you can use GetGo, the checkouts or the self-service option. And it’s great helping customers sign up. Talking them through how it works and then watching their amazement as they try it out. You see them on the other side of the street with their phone out, ready to go. They’re in and out of the store in seconds, without queueing. When it's a product you've worked on, that's a great feeling.

“When it's a product you've worked on, that's a great feeling.”

The biggest challenge is introducing a new way of shopping to the customer. You're trying to get people accustomed to something quite different and that’s what we're working to overcome. Some prefer to use more familiar payment methods, while others enjoy trying a new technology. So, how do you create something brand new, while also making people feel confident about trying it?

Timing is everything. We’re already seeing evidence that people love GetGo, and I’m confident that more customers will love this in time. We’re continuing to adapt the shopping experience to meet customers’ changing needs. And we’re pushing the boundaries of technology, while pushing the boundaries of customer perception and expectation. For me, that's what innovation really is.

“We’re pushing the boundaries of technology, customer perception and expectation.”

Tesco as a whole has this laser focus on serving customers. That's the thing that I'm struck by, whenever I talk to anybody here. We're all focused on giving the best service possible. So we're all focused on the same thing.

We have the same goals, and we're motivated to improve things. To test this technology and learn from it. To deliver the best experience and value for our customers. We're really enjoying the challenge of achieving this through innovation. It’s a good bunch of people. All really bright, all really nice. It's a great environment to be in."

Being part of our Technology team means you get the time and tools to try new things. Like the ideas that make life a little better for our customers and colleagues. And the career progression that makes life a little better for you, too.