The service is being mooted as a rival to Amazon Fresh which offers same-day delivery in London. The online retailer, which launched its service in the UK in June, is currently considering roll-out plans.
The Amazon Fresh launch is shaking up the online grocery sector with retailers fighting for market share and trialling a number of services.
Tesco same-day in 261 stores
The Tesco same-day service is available in 261 stores. However, the retailer said it would be opening collection points in community locations. These collection points would be similar to store collections points and would be found in a range of places from car parks at schools, to shopping centres to hotels.
The same-day click-and-collect service means customers who order before 1pm, Monday to Saturday, can collect after 4pm that day. It is priced at £2 from Monday to Thursday and £3 on Fridays and Saturdays. The Tesco system would also charge £4 for any orders under £40. The service is not available on Sundays and bank holidays.
The launch has been backed with a TV ad campaign starring the actors Ruth Jones and Ben Miller, showing them ordering their groceries using the same-day click-and-collect as they return from holiday.
Back in the black
In April it was revealed that Tesco was back in the black as pre-tax profits hit £162M for the full year. The preliminary results for the 52 weeks to February 27 revealed that overall group sales were up 0.1%. Group operating profit hit £944M, up 1.1% on the previous year.
The retailer has come under criticism from the National Farmers Union, which made a formal complaint to the Chartered Trading Standards Institute about the use of ‘fake’ farm brands. It specifically highlighted the use of Tesco brands such as its ‘Woodside Farms’ and ‘Boswell Farms’ that it said could mislead customers.