In the wake of the 21st century, the number of food stores in the UK was well below the ten thousand mark. The supermarket industry was also responsive to changes that not only made supermarkets dominant in the local scenes but they spread across the national realms. Before then, only a few brands had a command of over 70% of the market share. It is critical to elucidate that only four major food outlets in the UK accounted for this growth.
Among the influential companies dealing with food in the supermarket industry was Tesco which remains a major food outlet in the UK. By early this century, Tesco had gained over 25% of the market share in the food industry. Tesco introduced customer loyalty cards which helped the supermarket to consolidate the customer base and its dominance in the food retail chains. This set precedence for other players in the industry to start other strategies to woo and have some loyal customers.