Co-op has announced the latest rollout of its robot delivery trials with the introduction of the service in Cambridge, as well as revealing the rollout of ‘walking deliveries’.
It says it will be the first UK supermarket to offer walking deliveries for households and workplaces up to a 15 minute walk from its stores. Following trials of the walking delivery service this year in Cornwall the new service is expected to operate from 200 stores this year, helping to bring home delivery to more communities.
During the trial shoppers have used the service for top-up shopping, forgotten items and treats and meals for evenings at home The roll-out is expected to include smaller towns and rural villages often considered ‘off-line’ by rapid home delivery providers who have a focus on dense urban hubs.
The autonomous home delivery robots trial, which it has been piloting in partnership with Starship Technologies, extended to Cambridge this week. It first launched in Milton Keynes before rolling out to Northampton. It will serve 12,000 residents in 5,000 homes in Cambridge.
Co-op hopes to grow its online business by a further 50% to £300M by the end of this year, with online services now available at more than 2,000 of its stores in towns, villages and cities across the UK.
As part of its fast delivery partnerships, which also include Deliveroo and Amazon Prime, groceries are picked fresh and delivered locally from stores which act as micro-distribution hubs in the community.
Chris Conway, Co-op’s ecommerce director, said: “Making shopping quick, easy and convenient for our members and customers is at the very heart of our approach. Our aim is to be the most convenient home delivery service and we continue to innovate to meet the needs of consumers.”
