Co-op grows online on-demand services

The retailer was the first to use same-day robot deliveries in the UK when it partnered with Starship Technologies in early 2018 to offer online home delivery services in Milton Keynes and surrounding areas including Newport Pagnell and Bletchley.

The service will now expand to Northampton, serving around 5,000 households from the Co-op food store in Wootton Fields, serving communities in Wootton and Hardingstone, with the robots travelling up to three miles from the store.

Northampton residents can order food through the Starship Food Delivery app, choosing from a range of more than 1,000 items. They then select where they want their delivery to be sent and watch in real-time as the robot makes its journey via an interactive map. Once the robot arrives, they receive an alert, and can then meet and unlock it through the app.

In addition, Co-op has increased its online offer and is now on track to offer online on-demand convenience from more than 1,000 of its stores by the end of this year. Orders are fulfilled through the Co-op online shop and through its partnerships with Starship Technologies, Deliveroo, Buymie (Bristol), and Pinga (East London) in as little as under one hour, and up to seven days in advance.

The retailer’s approach sees its stores act as micro-distribution hubs locally, with orders picked from local Co-op stores, so its high street stores benefit from any increase in online demand.

Chris Conway, head of e-commerce at Co-op, said: “We continue to look for new ways to innovate and expand access to our products and services to deliver a truly compelling offer for consumers. Our partnership with Starship enables Co-op to offer further availability, flexibility and choice to meet community shopping needs for on-demand convenience.

“We have seen big changes in e-commerce this year with new customers using the channel that have never used it before, and seeing the benefits. Offering quality and value quickly, easily and conveniently is core to Co-op’s approach – delivering what our members and customers want, when and where they need it.”

Andrew Curtis, head of UK operations at Starship Technologies, added: “This is the next step in our growth ambitions as Starship looks to further roll out our services across the UK following increasing demand during the pandemic.”

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