Tesco is calling time on round the clock shopping, 20 years since it started.
Midnight beer runs are about to get trickier around the country after Tesco announced that one in four 24-hour stores are to cut their opening hours.
The 76 stores affected will now close between midnight and 6am.
Tony Hoggett, retail director for Tesco, blamed the shorter hours on online shopping.
"We’re always thinking about how to serve our customers better in each of our stores and with the growth of online grocery shopping, these stores saw very few customers during the night," Hoggett said.
Tesco's online sales were up 15 per cent in the first half of last year, while sales in Tesco stores are down as much as 10 per cent in places.
Hoggett said the shorter hours would allow staff to restock the shelves overnight.
Tesco started round-the-clock opening in 1996. Around 400 stores are now open 24-hours a day.
Earlier this week, a UK watchdog found that Tesco had repeatedly withheld money from suppliers to boost its sales performance artificially.
