Asda to expand one-hour rapid delivery service to 96 UK stores

Asda announced it will extend its pilot one-hour express delivery service to 96 stores amid a surge in online shopping since the pandemic hit.

“There was a clear gap in the market for a speedy delivery service offering our full online product range for delivery within one hour,” said Simon Gregg, Asda’s vice president of online grocery.

“As the only grocer to offer this service, we have seen a significant number of customers access this option, with slots regularly selling out at our pilot stores,” he said.

He added that he expects more more demand for the service with customers going back to offices and children heading back to school.

Customers can order anything from the supermarket’s online range of about 30,000 grocery products and have it delivered to them within the house – provided they are willing to pay a flat delivery fee of £8.50 ($12) and live within a three-mile radius of a selected store.

There is no minimum spend requirement, but the maximum number of items that can be ordered is 70.

Asda, owned by US retail giant Walmart (WMT), has also introduced a new feature that lets consumers track their order from the store to their door in real time.

Read more: Amazon opens first non-food retail store in the UK

The fast delivery service was trialled at four Asda stores back in June and “has exceeded expectations, with the number of initial orders higher than projected”, the company said.

The retailer said it is now looking “to bolster its immediacy proposition to give customers more flexibility in how they shop”.

It also recently extended its rapid delivery partnership with Uber Eats to more than 300 stores.

The supermarket expects to launch express delivery in more stores, if the latest rollout proves to be popular with customers.

Asda's announcement comes as the pandemic has changed the shopping habits of many.

A recent report from personal finance startup Credit Karma revealed that about 70% of Britons say buying online has become their preferred shopping methods, up from less than half prior to the pandemic.

And supermarkets are trying to keep up with this demand.

Asda recently announced it will be commercially testing a new type of technology to power driverless vans in partnership with self-driving startup Wayve.

Earlier this week online delivery company Ocado (OCDO.L) said it would pump £10m into Wayve, to pave the way for driverless food deliveries in "complex urban environments".

The full list of Asda stores offering the service:

Halifax
Rotherham
Thornaby
St Matthews (Walsall)
Poole
Sheffield Drakehouse
Castlepoint Supercentre
Leicester
Middlesbrough
Crawley
Accrington
Caerphilly
Dunfermline
Abbey Park
Keighley
Hull Bilton
Portadown
Straiton
Huddersfield
Barry
Doncaster
Havant Supercentre
Boldon Supercentre
Oadby
Crewe
Leicester Abbey Road
Hartlepool
Chesser
Leith
Wolverhampton
Lower Earley
Horwich
Ferring
Bournemouth
Small Heath
Sheffield Supercentre
Cambridge
Cumbernauld
Gosport
Gateshead Supercentre
Cardiff Bay
Waterlooville Supercentre
Queslett
Blyth
Swansea
Portlethen
Corby
Halifax
Rotherham
Thornaby
St Matthews (Walsall)
Poole
Sheffield Drakehouse
Castlepoint Supercentre
Leicester
Middlesbrough
Crawley
Accrington
Caerphilly
Dunfermline
Abbey Park
Keighley
Hull Bilton
Portadown
Straiton
Huddersfield
Barry
Doncaster
Havant Supercentre
Boldon Supercentre
Oadby
Crewe
Leicester Abbey Road
Hartlepool
Chesser
Leith
Wolverhampton
Lower Earley
Horwich
Ferring
Bournemouth
Small Heath
Sheffield Supercentre
Cambridge
Cumbernauld
Gosport
Gateshead Supercentre
Cardiff Bay
Waterlooville Supercentre
Queslett
Blyth
Swansea
Portlethen
Corby
Washington
Tunstall
Tipton
Sunderland
Fareham
Benton
Cardiff Supercentre
Dumbarton
Wisbech
Antrim
Coventry Supercentre
Rawtenstall
Southampton
Bishop Auckland
Aberdare
Far Cotton
Newport
Nuneaton
Brierley Hill
Bloxwich
Eastleigh Supercentre
Pentwyn
Redditch
Boston
Chaucer Road Sheffield
Stockton
Kirkcaldy
Kingswood
Queensferry Supercentre
Fleetwood
Gosforth
Great Bridge Supercentre
Thurmaston
Dudley
Minworth Supercentre
Chelmsley Wood
South Shields
Wolstanton
Hull Hessle Road
Bridge of Dee Supercentre
Sinfin
Old Kent Road
Isle of Dogs
Bristol Whitchurch
Longwell Green
Patchway
Bristol Filton
Bedminster
Morley