Waitrose and Deliveroo are broadening their partnership to meet strong customer demand for grocery delivery by adding more than 70 new Waitrose locations by the summer.
It means that Deliveroo customers will be able to order their favourite Waitrose products for delivery in as little as 20 minutes from over 220 Waitrose locations across the country - more than two thirds of the supermarket’s stores.
The partnership with Deliveroo is bringing new customers to Waitrose. Almost a third of monthly Waitrose orders on Deliveroo are from customers who have never shopped with the supermarket brand before. Top-selling items include avocados, blueberries, sourdough bread and milk.
This next phase of expansion means Waitrose will be available for the first time on Deliveroo in almost 30 new towns and cities, including Lewes, Cirencester and Newark, where the service will be live from today.
This comes only a year after the partnership was rolled out to 150 Waitrose shops following a successful trial of just five sites in 2020.
Deliveroo customers will be able to order from up to 1,000 products from Waitrose, including its essential Waitrose range - the biggest value tier of any supermarket - plus its premium quality range, Waitrose No. 1 and Waitrose Duchy Organic.
Customers can also order last minute Easter treats, including Heston from Waitrose Mocha Coffee Hot Cross Buns, Tony's Chocolonley Egg-stra Special Caramel Eggs and Waitrose Egg Hunt chocolates.
Waitrose is also trialling Deliveroo Hop, the rapid delivery service that brings groceries to customers' doors in as little as ten minutes, in Bermondsey in London.
James Bailey, Executive Director for Waitrose, remarked, “Our partnership with Deliveroo shows the strong demand for Waitrose products and that this is one of the ways our customers want to shop with us.
'People's plans change and the service ensures we are even more flexible around our customer's lifestyle, giving them more freedom to be more spontaneous about what they eat or drink and when.”
Carlo Mocci, Chief Business Officer UK&I, Deliveroo, added, “It’s fantastic to be able to build further on our successful and long standing partnership with Waitrose, one of Britain’s best-loved brands.
'By expanding into these new locations, it will give our customers a greater choice of on-demand groceries and household essentials that can be delivered to their doors in as little as 20 minutes.”
FS News Editor Becky says, 'It's interesting to see how the pandemic has changed what we expect from grocery delivery. We were all battling for delivery slots as we tried to avoid the inevitable Covid soup of other shoppers, despite the industry's best efforts to keep outlets clean.
'While many of us have continued with a weekly online grocery drop, others want theirs delivered on demand, as fast as possible! With more speedy delivery brands than ever, expect more partnerships, and even more new delivery firms which will drive the competitiveness of this market until it reaches saturation point.'