Since the start of lockdown the online channel has been playing a vital role. As people opt to stay in the safety of their own homes, sales for online groceries have benefitted - almost doubling in June vs. a year ago.
We look to eCommerce for our ‘big shop’ but we’re still doing our top-ups in physical stores. The convenience channel has benefitted from the lockdown period. Independent retail has shown growth as well as the likes of Tesco Express, Sainsbury’s Local and Co-op.
Digital services have been helpful in other markets. In China, local grocers are encouraging older shoppers to place orders using WeChat.
US rapid-delivery service Postmates (who were recently acquired by Uber) have a wide choice of retail outlets though the platform is primarily used for takeaways.
Similar services have been gaining momentum in the UK. While Co-op, Morrisons and Aldi have been expanding their partnerships with Deliveroo; Asda have partnered with Uber Eats to provide rapid grocery deliveries.
Several retailers are also testing out their own rapid delivery services including Waitrose & Partners Rapid, Ocado Zoom and Co-op On Demand.
Today the reach of many of these services is pretty low. I thought I’d take a look at the rapid-delivery offerings in my area to see if I could find an online solution for my top-up missions.
Here’s my review of 5 ways to get groceries to your door within a few hours…
1. DELIVEROO
Time it took for delivery to arrive: 24 mins
Service Fee 49p + Delivery Fee from £1.99 Based on Distance
£5 small order fee on orders below £10
Reminding their patrons that you can get more than takeaways, Deliveroo have a helpful “Grocery” category on their site. In my local area, this category gives several options: M&S, Co-op, BP, Shell, Nisa, Holland & Barrett, Majestic Wine and Lloyds Pharmacy.
Since I was ordering lunch and as I love an M&S sarnie (who doesn’t?), my decision was easy to make!
As you’d expect from any M&S Food store, there is a tight range of pre-made sandwiches, ready meals, fresh and cupboard items. There is also plenty of wine and beer to choose from.
There are only six non-food items, which is helpful if you’re ordering something else and desperately need loo roll or toothpaste.
The site had good product images and names but no detailed item descriptions to share ingredients or allergens.
After adding my lunch and a few other items, I placed my order at 11.15pm. I could track my driver on the app and he arrived well within the 20-30 minute estimated delivery time.
The interface was the easiest for me to pick-up given I'm a regular user of Deliveroo for takeaways. The prices were what you would expect from M&S and the delivery fee was reasonable given the speed in which it arrived.
The question is would many people pay £2.50 to avoid going to the local shop for a few bits? In normal circumstances probably not, but I find it helpful to know the option is there if I ever need it.
2. UBER EATS
Time it took for delivery to arrive: 20 mins
Service Fee 10% of Total Order + Delivery Fee from £1.99 Based on Distance
No Minimum Spend. Small order fee of £2 for orders under £5
Unlike Deliveroo, Uber Eats doesn’t immediately present “Grocery” as a category on their home page. Many of their regular users might not even know it’s an option.
Typing “groceries” into the search bar gave me the following to choose from; Londis, Nisa, Hursts, ShopNDrive, Costcutter and (for some reason) Subway.
As the images are all alcohol and sweets, I wasn’t expecting a wide choice of other groceries.
Of these options, Nisa seems to have the most choice outside of alcoholic drinks and snacks. You can find bread, milk and all the cupboard staples but nothing in the way of fresh fruit and vegetables.
There are no product images on the Nisa page and it isn’t clear from the product descriptions what some of the items are. For instance, the soft drinks item descriptions don’t include pack sizes.
I ordered a “Regular 7up” for £2.01 and took a guess that this was a 500ml bottle.
I placed my order at 3.40pm and was given an estimated wait time of 25-30 minutes. I could keep an eye on my delivery until it arrived 20 minutes later, making it the fastest order on this list.
There were a few understandable substitutions. For example, I ordered 1 pint of semi-skimmed milk and received 2 pints of skimmed milk.
My 7up was indeed a 500ml bottle, price-marked at £1.29 (ouch!).
Nisa prices are higher than you would see in a major supermarket. My order came to £13.44 and I paid fees of £3.33, making it slightly more expensive than Deliveroo.
All-in-all, this is a good solution for ordering emergency booze or snacks for a party but it's not a great way to get your milk and cereal.
Uber Eats' service has improved compared with when they first arrived in the area but of the two, I would choose Deliveroo over Uber Eats purely based on the stores they partner with and the range they offer.
That being said, I will be watching this space for when Asda becomes an option on the platform.
3. CO-OP ON DEMAND
Time it took for delivery to arrive: 1 hour 50 mins
Free delivery, but a 20p carrier bag charge
£15 minimum spend, maximum 30 items
Co-op are one of the key players in the rapid-delivery space. They are present on Deliveroo and offer their own service through their 'On-Demand groceries' site.
The site has a similar interface to other online supermarkets, making it effortless to navigate. There is a substantial selection of own label and branded products expanding all of the typical FMCG categories.
You can also browse within “Vegan & Vegetarian” and “Free From”.
The product images and descriptions are strong and all the key product information is present, leaving no cause for confusion when adding items to your basket.
The website was clearly designed with mobile in mind but it is just as easy to use on a laptop. The search function occasionally returns unrelated items, but this doesn't hinder the experience.
There is a limit of 30 items so you couldn’t do a big shop for a family of four, but it provides a perfect solution for a smaller household or a top-up shop.
I placed my order at 11.15am and selected the earliest delivery slot of 1pm-2pm. I received a text with tracking information including a map of where my driver was until he arrived at 1.05pm. Everything I ordered was present and the whole process left me satisfied.
The choice and the speed of 'Co-op On Demand' impressed me but it's real competitive edge is the free delivery.
It seems a little too good to be true but it takes away a big barrier a lot of the other services have.
During and after the lockdown I can think of plenty of ways to use 'Co-op On Demand' - it feels like a solution to a problem I didn't really know I had.
4. BEELIVERY
Time it took for delivery to arrive: 1 hour 5 mins
Delivery cost: £3.99 for orders under £20, £2.99 for orders £20+, £1.99 for orders £50+
Minimum order of £12
Beelivery is a service designed for getting groceries to your door quickly. It crowd-sources its drivers who hand pick your items from local shops and drop them off at your door.
The app has an impressive 4.9-star rating on the App Store, including many positive reviews from drivers.
They are a little inconsistent in how they advertise their delivery times. The website, App Store tagline and confirmation email all say different things - but range somewhere between 15-90 minutes.
The variety of the products doesn’t pull from the shops but is a selection of best-sellers that the drivers have to source. The range is mostly branded and at a much higher price-point than you would see in a major supermarket.
There were lots of surprising items including meat substitutes, charcoal and extension leads.
It’s straight-forward to find items you’re looking for as well as to peruse the categories. The interface is a little overwhelming on a desktop/laptop but easy to browse on the app.
The product images are up to scratch but there are some inconsistencies with product names.
Because of this you won't find the two Maryland Cookies products when you type "cookies" into the search bar.
As with Deliveroo and Uber Eats, there are no product details such as ingredients or allergens available on the site.
I put my order through at 12.15pm and it arrived just over an hour later.
A nice touch on the check-out page is the option to allow the driver to select substitutions or to get a phone call so they can check what to do if your item is unavailable.
I allowed the driver to select substitutions on my behalf and was disappointed with some of the choices he made.
My order may have been too much of a challenge for the driver. Among the substitutions were Tesco Fish Fingers which were selected instead of Quorn Vegetarian Fishless Fingers.
I contacted Beelivery’s customer service who responded quickly and refunded the cost of the items I was unhappy with.
Judging from the reviews the service is normally very reliable. The concept is great, but I’d recommend sticking to highly available products like bread, milk and beer!
Even though my subs weren’t great, the main barrier for Beelivery is price. The delivery charge isn't too bad but there is a significant premium on the item price.
Given the model, it's not surprising that it’s more expensive than other solutions on this list. How else would they make a profit?
As more and more well-established competitors enter this space with lower prices, I’m not sure what role sites like Beelivery can play in the future.
5. AMAZON PRIME NOW
Time it took for delivery to arrive: 10 hours
Delivery £3.99 or free if you spend over £40
£15 minimum spend.
Unfortunately, Prime Now is yet to deliver to my local area, so I asked a very good London-based friend to try it out. In starting his order at 10am, the earliest slot he could book was 8pm-10pm. It’s unclear whether this wait was typical or if it was due to high demand during lockdown.
A ten hour wait seems disappointing for a service that promotes two-hour delivery, especially considering it would be possible to book a Tesco or Waitrose slot for the next morning. The first choice you’re faced with when landing on the site is to "Select Amazon or Morrisons to start your shop”. The presence of these two services created a bit of confusion on the journey.
It’s not immediately clear that there is no option to mix and match between the two. The search function will continue give you results for both and it’s not until you go to checkout that you will discover you have two separate baskets.
Familiarity with the Amazon platform makes the site easy to navigate and browse. The product images, naming conventions and descriptions are also effective. The Amazon selection was impressive in parts, carrying a choice of major brands and Booths own label products. The range of ingredients for scratch cooking was patchier, often with only one brand to choose from in each category. Prime Now is one of the better value services in this list. Prices were comparable to major supermarkets, with special offers available across the site.
Despite the ten-hour wait, my friend was impressed with the delivery process.
Amazon kept him up to date on the order through a combination of email, SMS and app alerts. It arrived just before 9pm and there were no missing or substituted products. Amazon’s service was reliable and straightforward. The only disappointment was the long wait for the delivery slot. I imagine that could be a lockdown related blip and is hopefully something they will fix as the service scales up.
My exploration into the world of rapid-delivery has taught me that there are some great solutions out there if you need a few bits and you can’t get to a convenience store.
I’d put the services into two buckets –
Co-op On Demand, Amazon Prime Now and to some extent Deliveroo are great for doing a top-up shop during lockdown, especially if you can’t leave the house or you’re stuck on Skype calls all day!
I can also imagine the odd occasion I would use these platforms outside of lockdown (assuming Amazon improve their wait time).
The other two are useful services if you’re at a house party and you’re running low on drinks. Not a situation I find myself in these days, but still…there is a market!
There are certainly people in the UK who are willing to pay for this level of convenience, but even a small delivery fee will be a barrier for many.
As so many retailers are exploring this space, I am hopeful we will see more cost-effective solutions in years to come. I think we’re a long way from this being a reality given the difficulties in making eCommerce profitable but I look to the future with an open mind.
As we look to “understand our consumers”, remind yourself that you are a consumer too! We’re not all the same, but we’re more alike than you might think. If you want my help in exploring ways to try shopping a little differently to build this mindset – get in touch!
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