Tesco has upped the ante in the supermarket online shopping wars by rolling out same-day click & collect across a further 100 stores and locations - but has decided against rolling it out as a free service.
The retailer launched trials of the service at 200 stores in November and has now added a further 61, as well as 36 non-store locations.
But whereas the majority of the trials were free, the new pick-up slots, available for either 4pm-6pm or 6pm-8pm, for orders placed before 1pm on the day, will be charged at £2 from Monday to Thursday, and £3 on Fridays.
The move comes with a big debate raging over how retailers can make the expansion of online services financially viable. Tesco’s service, as in the trials, also has a minimum spend of £40, with a £4 charge on top for smaller orders.
To publicise the expansion of the service, Tesco has launched a new ad blitz starring Gavin & Stacey star Ruth Jones and her ‘Tesco family’, showing them ordering same-day click & collect upon returning from a holiday.
Tesco’s move has been seen as a fightback against Amazon, whose Amazon Prime Now service offers one-hour delivery in parts of London. But it is also competing against Asda, which offers same-day collection from 250 stores.
Sainsbury’s is also trialling same-day delivery and a click & collect service, which carries a £2 charge.
“We know time is valuable to our customers and they expect more convenience and choice than ever before in how, when and where they do their grocery shopping,” said a Tesco spokesman. “Our same-day grocery click & collect service is available at nearly 300 stores across the UK and means our customers can get their shopping at a time and location that is convenient for them.”
Tim Reay, head of grocery at digital provider Salmon, said: “Food grocers must reassure shoppers that their digital offering doesn’t just sit parallel to in-store but amalgamates the two together. Daily click & collect will enable Tesco to compete with Amazon’s strong online offering and could prove to be the difference in the ongoing retail wars between the ‘big four’.”
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