A number of major supermarkets will now allow shoppers to pick up their groceries at underground stations.
Tesco and Waitrose have confirmed a partnership with Transport for London (TfL) to set up click and collect shopping at a number of Tube stations.
They join Asda, which began a six month trial of a similar service last November.
Shoppers will be able to order their groceries online and pick them up at a selected Tube station on their way home that day.
Click and Collect
Details about the Click and Collect services are being finalised, but the overall aim is to make grocery shopping more convenient.
Tesco and Waitrose are set to install these facilities at six tube stations across London. The Tesco outlets will be rolled-out from February at:
- Osterley
- Newbury Park
- Rayners Lane
- Finchley Central
- Arnos Grove
- Cockfosters.
[SPOTLIGHT]Waitrose is yet to announce where it will provide Click and Collect services. Neither supermarket has confirmed pricing for the service.
InPost will provider lockers to store deliveries from a selection of retailers in three of the stations, enabling people to pick up parcels from a variety of shops.
Asda shoppers can currently order online and pick up their shopping on the same day after 4pm at one of the following tube station car parks:
- East Finchley
- Harrow and Wealdstone
- High Barnet
- Highgate
- Stanmore
- Epping
It costs £1.50 per order for same day ordering costs on a basket worth a minimum of £15.
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Flexible shopping
The current plans spread across a limited number of London Underground stations, but Mark Ibbotson, retail director at Asda, said that if the trial is successful there are plans to extend it to other areas of London and the South East.
Graeme Craig, Director of Commercial Development at TfL, said: “TfL has been reviewing opportunities to improve the services on offer to customers across the public transport network, which is responsible for an average of over 11 million journeys every day, and has been speaking to local, national and international retailers about working together to provide a range of services.”
Andrew Yaxley, Tesco Managing Director for London, said: “The additional TfL pick-up locations will give even greater flexibility to our customers because they will have more options to collect their shopping at a time and location that's most convenient to them.”
Robin Phillips, Waitrose Director for Ecommerce, echoed this sentiment: “Collection lockers will unlock the potential to reach customers in locations where we don't have a shop and which are very convenient, such as on the way home from work or the school run.”
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