Asda has become the first of the big UK grocery chains to join a throng of retailers partnering with Uber Eats for rapid food delivery in a trial in Leeds and Birmingham.
Launched this week in Pudsey in Leeds and Barnes Hill in Birmingham, the service will give shoppers access to 300 Asda own-brand products via Uber Eats that can be delivered with two hours.
Shoppers order items including ready meals, fresh fruit and vegetables, beer, wine and spirits in the same way they would order food from a restaurant on Uber Eats. An Uber Eats driver is then dispatched to collect it from store and deliver it.
With no minimum basket size needed to qualify for delivery, the partnership provides shoppers with a convenient, contactless and cash-free option when shopping for their favourite products, says the retailer.
If successful, Asda plans to extend the offering to more stores across the UK later in the year.
Simon Gregg, Vice President of Online Grocery at Asda, said: “This will give Asda customers more choice in how they shop with us and offer yet another way to quickly and conveniently get their favourite branded and own-brand products delivered to the doorstep. Customers can use the Uber Eats app to select from hundreds of items for delivery in the same way they would shop for a takeaway.”
Toussaint Wattinne, Uber Eats General Manager, adds: “Uber Eats is looking forward to making sure customers can quickly and conveniently order groceries and treats, and I know this partnership will offer even more choices for customers using the Uber Eats app.”
Uber Eats has already been signed up in the UK to deliver food and beverages for Caffè Nero and has also been party to successful trials in Paris with supermarket giant Carrefour.
The tie up taps into the growing demand for grocery delivery that has accelerated during lockdown and has the added benefit of giving Uber drivers a second string to their bow as taxi customers dwindle due to social distancing.