Tesco to extend same-day online delivery service across UK

Service will cover more than 99% of UK households, says supermarket as fears grow over amazon

Tesco is going head to head with Amazon by extending its same-day online grocery delivery service across the UK.
Britain’s biggest supermarket chain said on Monday that the service, which is only available in London and rest of the south-east, will now be rolled out across the country, covering “over 99% of UK households”.
Tesco claimed this would give it the “biggest reach of any retailer in the UK, stretching from the Shetland Islands in Scotland to Cornwall in south-west England”.
Customers can order by 1pm to have their shopping delivered from 7pm onwards and receive an unlimited number of items, with the rolled-out service priced between £3 and £8.
The retailer has also recently extended its same-day click and collect service to 300 UK locations and last month launched a one-hour delivery service in central London.
Adrian Letts, managing director of Tesco Online, said: “Customers tell us they like getting their shopping delivered quickly and conveniently.”
He said the popularity of the same-day delivery service had grown since being launched in London and the south-east, adding: “We’re really excited to be rolling it out to customers nationwide.”
The move comes after the launch of AmazonFresh, which entered the UK market last year, raising fears that the dominance of the so called big four supermarkets – Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Asda – could be further eroded.
Amazon, which has also teamed up with Morrisons in the UK, operates its service across London, Surrey and parts of Hampshire.
In the US, Amazon is also acquiring the supermarket chain Whole Foods in a $13.7bn (£10.7bn) deal, its biggest foray into the grocery sector to date. The acquisition is being viewed as a signal of intent by Amazon to wade into the grocery business.
Tesco, along with the other established players, has also been hammered by the emergence of the German discounters Aldi and Lidl, whose entrance onto the grocery scene has sparked a bitter price war that has eroded profit margins.