Tesco is launching its first transactional mobile app next week on mainstream handset Nokia Ovi Store.

The app will let shoppers browse a full store and update their shopping lists.

Tesco is launching on the mainstream platform first to target its core customers – mums. It will then seek to roll out to other products, such as its iPhone app.

Nick Lansley, Tesco.com head of R&D, said: “Our core customers are busy mums who don’t have iPhones and we want to focus on them first.”

The move follows Marks & Spencer, Ocado and Waitrose which have all launched mobile-optimised sites or apps recently.

Tesco.com has also formed a development team to bolster its mobile services and extend its strategy beyond the smartphone market before the end of the year.

Angela Maurer, head of web and mobile development at Tesco.com, said: “We’re launching our first transactional mobile app on the Nokia Ovi Store. We cross-referenced our research with Nokia’s and found a lot of crossover between its core customers and ours.”

In contrast, Ocado launched its first transactional app for Apple’ iPhone, then Google’s Android.

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