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Source: Pop Specs

Just Eat has partnered with prescription glasses retailer Pop Specs as part of its continuing expansion into non-food.

The partnership will enable customers to order prescription, ready-to-wear eyewear in under 30 minutes. Initially, eight stores across Manchester, London, Glasgow, Milton Keynes, Newcastle and Sheffield will come on to the Just Eat app, with plans to expand to 30 stores by the end of this year.

Just Eat users will have access to more than 80 eyewear designs to shop, each available with prescription lenses and cases.

“At Just Eat, we’re always looking for new ways to support the busy lives of our customers, offering what they want, whenever they need it,” said Amy Heather, Just Eat UK strategic accounts director. “Our latest partnership with Pop Specs is a strong example of how Just Eat can work with retailers to enable everyday convenience through rapid, on-demand delivery.

“By leveraging our extensive delivery network and platform, we’re looking forward to bringing the same level of convenience to our customers shopping for prescription eyewear as we do for those ordering food.”

The deal marks the latest expansion into non-food for the aggregator app. In March, Just Eat began a play in health & beauty through a partnership with independent UK chain Pyramid Pharmacy. It sees a broad range of items, including perfume, make-up, first aid essentials and flu remedies, listed on the app.

In the run-up to Christmas, Just Eat launched a dedicated Lego store on the app – giving parents the opportunity “to order toys via rapid delivery straight to their doorstep, taking away the hassle of in-store shopping around the festive season”, the company said at the time. It is also working with several florists to sell last-minute bouquets via the app.

Speaking to The Grocer in March, Just Eat UK MD Claire Pointon said the company’s move into non-food was just beginning. “We’re at the foothills of these things and they will expand,” she said.

“By launching these new retail partnerships, our aim is to show up for our customers in more of the moments when they need us,” she added.

The partnership with Pop Specs – which earlier this year secured a £75,000 investment in return for 12% of the business from three investors on BBC One’s Dragons’ Den – marked “a significant move for Just Eat into non-food retail” Just Eat said, “showing the potential of rapid, online delivery in connecting innovative high-street businesses with customers online”.

“As the biggest food delivery company in the UK, Just Eat has changed the way people order takeaways and groceries, with delivery in less than 30 minutes. Pop Specs has been doing the same within the eyewear industry by providing customers a unique eyewear experience, with the spectacles being prescription ready in just 20 minutes,” said Daniel Barnes, founder of Pop Specs. “Now, working with Just Eat, we’re able to expand our offer to reach customers at home – which means if you can’t get to Pop Specs, Pop Specs will come to you.”

To mark the new partnership, Pop Specs is offering an exclusive, orange glasses design, only available to order via Just Eat.