Tesco Extra entrance at night.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.