A new kind of one-hour supermarket delivery service has been launched across London.
Customers order their shopping online at PocketShop.com, choosing from products that are available at stores near them. Once completed, their order goes to the nearest of Pocket Shop’s team of 20 shoppers, who travel into the hotspot areas where Pocket Shop has pockets of customers.
That shopper walks to the shop, using an app that first guides them through in-store picking, and then directs them to the
delivery address. Customers get a text message alert when their order is on its way and the first order is delivered free of charge. They subsequently receive a weekly restock reminder email enabling them to restock their cupboards within the hour.
Pocket Shop offers a ‘superstore’ range of 150,000 products and promises that prices are comparable to shopping in Local and Metro convenience stores. Currently it delivers products from Sainsbury’s and Tesco and says it will soon add Boots, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer.
A dynamic website means that the company can adapt to demand. Dynamic delivery options, for example are based on the current capacity of shoppers. If a delivery can’t be made in an hour, customers will only see the option of a two-hour, or other, delivery option. Peaks in certain areas mean shoppers will be moved to those areas.
The service comes out of internet technology business Forward Labs, which is part of the Forward Internet Group. It brings together entrepreneurs, designers, developers and marketers to fast track growth of tech businesses.
