Questions about Tesco Home Panels

General questions on Tesco Home Panels

1) What is Tesco Home Panels?

Tesco Home Panels is a panel of loyal Tesco Clubcard customers who receive, use and feedback on a variety of products including clothing, household cleaning, skincare, toiletries and many more. From time to time, panellists may be invited to complete surveys or take part in face to face or online focus groups. The feedback given helps us to develop and improve Tesco products, policies, and services.

2) How do I become a member of Tesco Home Panels?

The application process is in stages and all steps must be completed for your application to be considered. As part of our new recruitment process launched in 2024. You will need a Tesco Clubcard and a Tesco.com account to join our Home Panel. This helps us select which surveys or tests we invite you to, based on your Clubcard data and shopping habits.

Step 1) Before you can apply, we need you to confirm your Clubcard details via Tesco.com.

Step 2) Once your Clubcard details have been validated, you can complete the application form and you will be asked if you meet our joining criteria.

Step 3) We will email you a unique link that you must click to verify within 48hours. Can’t see the email? Check your junk and spam emails.
Please note: if you do not click your unique link in time, you will need to start the application process again.

Step 4) We ask you to complete a product review of a recently purchased product or item of clothing. You must complete this for us to continue with your application.

3) Why do I need to live permanently in the UK to be a member of Tesco Home Panels?

As a member of Tesco Home Panels, we will ask you to test products in your own home. Usually, we will send these products in the post to you, so you do need a permanent UK address to receive any samples for testing.

4) When will I find out if I have been selected to take part in Tesco Home Panels?

Applications are processed once a month, so we will be in contact within 4-6 weeks to let you know the outcome of your application.

5) I am a Tesco Employee; can I apply to join the panel?

Unfortunately, we are unable to recruit employees of Tesco or any of its group companies. The reason we do not allow employees to join the panel is because it can bring an element of bias into the process if they are taking part in assessing products where the Tesco name is visible.

To assess the products fairly and as impartially as possible we need to ensure that we use panellists that have no connection to the products.

We are governed by the Market Research Society and their guidelines state that we cannot include employees as this would create a bias. Therefore, we introduced the policy that Tesco employees or those with a Colleague Clubcard in their household cannot participate in the panel.

6) What is the difference between a survey and a product trial?

With a survey we will either ask your opinions on a certain subject or we will be asking you what types of products you purchase. For some surveys you may be eligible to take part in a product trial at a later date and other times this will not be required.

A product trial is when we send you a product through the post and we will ask you to test it and provide your feedback within a certain period.

A focus group is when you are invited to take part in an informal chat about a product, service, or Tesco in general. These will either be face to face at a venue or take place online in a group setting.

7) What type of products will I be asked to test on Tesco Home Panels?

Mainly you will be involved in testing non-food grocery products. These include products such as skincare, hair care, toiletries, household cleaners, paper products and clothing. However, from time to time, we may ask you to test or discuss other types of products and services.

8) How am I selected for product trials?

We recruit for the majority of our trials using Clubcard data, so you are usually only invited for trials if you purchase the specific products that we are testing. On occasions you may be asked to take part in surveys to establish what products you purchase, so we can invite you to test products that are relevant to you.

9) Why do you need all the personal information requested?

Tesco is proud to serve an extremely diverse customer base. In order to ensure that we reflect diverse views within our business decisions it is important that we capture feedback from a representative panel of customers as part of the home panels.

Asking for your personal information will enable us to involve you in our newly planned projects for food, home product testing, garment trials, focus groups and from time to time we would like to hear specifically from our customers who have additional needs when shopping with us. We need your address details so that we can send you the samples to try if you are selected for a product test.

10) Why do you need my telephone number?

We will use this number in case we need to call you. If you do not want to give your phone number, leave this field blank.

11) I am changing my email address; do you need to know?

Yes, we use your email address to contact you about surveys and product trials, so please contact us as soon as possible with your new email details so we can update our records.

12) My surname or address has changed; do you need to know?

You can update all your personal details from your home page (except your email address). To modify your details, click on the Account button on the top right-hand side of your home page. Please change your delivery address before accepting a trial if you have recently moved.

13) When I enter the answer to my secret question the system tells me it is invalid, what should I do?

Firstly, make sure that you are typing the answer in exactly as you entered it initially (i.e. including or excluding spaces, etc.). If you are still being told your answer is invalid, please contact us from your registered contact email address.

14) A friend/family member is interested in joining Tesco Home Panels, can they join?

Please ask them to register on the Tesco Home Panels website. If they are selected to take part, you will receive points as a thank you.

15) What does the Points section mean on my account?

Each time you complete a survey for us, you will receive 20 points for a short survey and 40 points for a longer survey. These will be added to your account within 4 weeks of completing the survey. Once you reach 1,000 points, you will automatically be sent a £10 E-voucher reward as a thank you. Additional points can be awarded for recommending friends or family members. 100 points per person will only be awarded to you on the condition that they become a Tesco Home Panel member, and your name and email address is stated as the person who recommended them. Friend referrals are capped at 5 friends or family members per panellist.

16) I am a member of Tesco Home Panels; can someone else in my household also join?

Yes, they can. However, they must have their own Clubcard. Applicants from the household should have a Clubcard registered to an individual Clubcard account and not linked to any other accounts in the household. We do not accept applications from the same household using the same Clubcard number.

17) I have decided that I do not want to be a member of Tesco Home Panels anymore, how do I stop my membership?

As a member you have the ability to unsubscribe and remove yourself from the Tesco Home Panels membership list by clicking on the unsubscribe button on your Account page at any time.

18) Will my details be passed onto other companies?

No personal details will be passed onto other companies. All information provided by you is treated according to our privacy policy.

19) I have changed my Clubcard number, do you need to know?

No, your details are already shared with the Home Panels team when you register with your Tesco.com account.

Product trial questions on Tesco Home Panels

1) How will the samples for the product test I am involved in be sent to me?

Normally product samples will be sent to you by Royal Mail. However, for some tests we may have to send the samples to you by courier or distribute them to you via your local store. If samples are not being sent to you by Royal Mail, we will make every effort to communicate this to you prior to the test.

2) Are the products that I am trying safe?

Yes, all the products that you test are safe. As a member of Tesco Home Panels, you are only testing products to tell us how well the products perform and whether they do the job they are designed to do. You are no more likely to experience a reaction or issue to a product from Tesco Home Panels than one you have purchased.

3) Can I take part in a product trial if I am going away while the trial is taking place?

We prefer that you do not take part in a product trial if you know you are going to be away as it may be difficult for you to obtain the samples and complete your online feedback.

4) How long should I use the products for?

All information will be provided on the products or on the instruction sheet which will be sent with the samples. If you have any questions or queries, please contact us quoting the name of the product you are testing.

5) My samples for a test have not arrived, what do I do?

We will advise you when the products have been dispatched to you. If you do not receive the products within seven working days of this message, please contact your Royal Mail sorting office and then contact us.

6) I have gone to complete a product test questionnaire online and it is not available for me to complete, what should I do?

Please check the instruction sheet provided with your samples for details on when the questionnaire will be available. If you have any other questions, please contact us with details of the trial you are participating in.

7) I have had a reaction or am experiencing a problem with one of the products I am testing what should I do?

Stop using the product(s) immediately and contact us as soon as possible.

8) I am allergic to some product ingredients; how do I know if I am able to take part in a product test?

If you are aware that certain products cause you allergies, please do not accept to take part in the trial. In addition, if you receive a product that contains an ingredient that you are allergic to please do not use the product and contact us immediately.

9) I am completing a questionnaire and I have made a mistake, but I cannot go back to change my response, what do I do?

Please stop the questionnaire at that point and contact us with name of the product trial.

10) What happens if I do not complete a product test questionnaire on time?

It is important that questionnaires are completed on time. We review each product test and any member who does not complete a trial questionnaire on time without a valid reason will have their membership with Tesco Home Panels suspended. If during a product test you experience a problem which results in, you failing to complete a trial questionnaire on time, please contact us as soon as possible to explain the reason.

If you are taking part in a home trial with multiple samples, the next samples will only be sent to you once you have completed the feedback for the previous samples. Membership may be suspended if feedback is not completed.

11) I have not taken part in a product trial for a while even though my information is up to date, why?

Tesco Home Panels has many members and as a result there can sometimes be long waiting periods between trial invitations. Not all panellists will be eligible for every trial, and this may be why you have not received many invites; however, we do invite our panellists to product trials fairly. If you have not heard from us within three months of your last product trial, please contact us.

12) I want to remain a member of Tesco Home Panels but not participate in surveys or trials for a few weeks, what do I do?

During the time you do not want to participate please do not respond to any invitations. You can also contact us by email, and we can temporarily place your account on pause, should you not wish to receive invitations within a set period.

13) I am taking part in a clothing trial, but my garment does not fit. What shall I do?

Please contact us soon as possible with the name of the product you are trialling and why you are unable to wear it. We will then advise on what to do next.

14) I have been invited to take part in a clothing trial, but it gave me a message that my size is not available. Why is this?

Clothing trials are very popular, and we do have limited size availability. If you are unsuccessful, we apologise and hope to invite you to participate in another clothing survey very soon.

15) I have my computer set so that pop-ups are blocked, will this affect what I see?

No, blocking pop-ups will not affect what you see.

16) What computer systems do I need to use Tesco Home Panels?

Any internet enabled device equipped with Internet Explorer (version 8 or higher), Firefox, Safari, Chrome will work. JavaScript should be fully enabled.

17) How is my personal data protected from eavesdroppers as it is transmitted through the Internet?

Each time you visit Tesco Home Panels you are assigned a temporary session identifier which identifies you to Tesco Home Panels. The session identifier is short-lived and is erased once you sign off or your session remains idle for a specific time period. SSL encrypts all information, including the session identifier, making it extremely difficult to steal either passwords or session identifiers over the network during the session.

18) Do I need to Enable Cookies?

Yes, Compusense now uses cookies to store some information. For more information on cookies click the link below ‘Cookies and Local Storage.’

19) Can I start completing a questionnaire and stop half-way through and return to finish at a later time?

The questionnaires have been set up so that you complete all questions relating to a particular product in one session. However, if you are assessing more than one product for a test it will be set up so you will be able to log on and off after you have answered all the questions relating to one product.