Asda is extending its rapid grocery delivery service to 96 stores after trials exceeded expectations.
Unlike some other providers, Asda’s ‘Express Delivery’ service lets customers choose from its full 30,000-strong online product range. Customers living within a three-mile radius of one of the stores can order up to 70 items for delivery within an hour for a flat rate charge of £8.50.
The service was trialled at Asda’s Halifax, Poole, Rotherham and St Matthews stores in June with the number of initial orders said to have been higher than projected.
The supermarket also recently extended its rapid delivery partnership with Uber Eats to more than 300 stores and said today that it will extend its own Express Delivery service to more stores if the latest rollout proves to be popular.
“We are rolling out our Express Delivery service to almost 100 stores after a trial showed there was a clear gap in the market for a speedy delivery service offering our full online product range for delivery within one hour,” said Simon Gregg, Asda’s Vice President of Online Grocery.
“As the only grocer to offer this service, we have seen a significant number of customers access this option, with slots regularly selling out at our pilot stores. We anticipate more demand for this flexible service now that many of our customers have returned to their place of work and children are back at school.”
Faster, on-demand delivery is the latest frontier in the battle for grocery shoppers with start-ups such as Weezy, Dija, Zapp, Jiffy, Gorillas, and Getir now taking on established players like Deliveroo.
Tesco recently began trials of its new Whoosh rapid delivery service and revealed this week that it had been expanded to over 50 of its Express shops. Sainsbury’s has its own quick delivery operation called Chop Chop, but it has also partnered with Deliveroo and Uber Eats to boost capacity.
Meanwhile, Waitrose scrapped its own Zoom rapid delivery operation earlier this year in favour of expanding its tie-up with Deliveroo. Morrisons, Aldi, and the Co-op are also using delivery operators such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats.
NAM Implications:
- Asda/EG firing on many cylinders…
- Too many?
- Can there really have been so much untapped potential under the Asda bonnet?
- i.e. Were Walmart holding Asda back?
- Over to you…
