Sainsbury’s is taking a leaf out of Deliveroo’s book as it prepares to dispatch small grocery orders by bike as part of a new one-hour home delivery service.
Customers will be able to order up to 20 items through an App called Chop Chop, and have them delivered by bicycle within one hour, for a flat fee of £4.99.
The supermarket chain is the first in the UK to test an on-demand, one-hour grocery delivery service, offering customers more flexibility and speed in their grocery shopping.
Following a successful small-scale trial in the Wandsworth area, the retailer will add 35,699 more postcodes to its App from Wednesday (28 September) and begin operating the service from its Pimlico store.
To run the service Sainsbury’s has recruited a team of 40 shoppers and cyclists. As soon as an order is placed, Sainsbury’s colleagues in either its Wandsworth or Pimlico store will receive the information on an App and shop for the products. Another Sainsbury’s colleague will then deliver the order by bicycle.
Customers pay via the App, and can track their order. If a product isn’t in stock, the shopper will call them to ask if they want a substitute item.
Jon Rudoe, Sainsbury’s digital and technology director said:“This trial is part of our strategy to give our customers more options to shop with us whenever and wherever they want.Speed of delivery is important to some customers, so we have brought back our bicycle service to test demand further.
“In Wandsworth customers are using the new one hour delivery service to buy forgotten items, or emergency goods when they cannot leave their home, or have invited guests on the spur of the moment.
“If it proves popular we might introduce it to other areas of London. It complements our same day delivery service which is available at selected London postcodes through our online groceries service.”
This is not the first time the retailer has sent out its groceries by bicycle. Sainsbury’s first offered home delivery from its Croydon Branch in 1882. Customers had to place orders at the store which were then delivered by carts, pulled by horses, or even delivered by hand.
Bicycles and tricycles came in to use at the turn of the century and in 1915 Sainsbury's purchased its first Model T Ford van.
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