Waitrose and Just Eat have entered a multi-year partnership to enhance grocery delivery services across the UK.
- The collaboration will enable grocery orders to be delivered within 30 minutes from 229 Waitrose locations nationwide, including major cities like London and Manchester.
- Significant growth has been observed in Waitrose’s weekly on-demand sales, increasing by 140% early this year.
- Just Eat delivers over 12 grocery orders per minute, reflecting the growing demand for quick grocery solutions.
- The partnership will expand customer access to thousands of Waitrose items, including their premium and essential ranges.
In a strategic move to boost its presence in the on-demand grocery sector, Waitrose has announced a partnership with delivery giant Just Eat. This collaboration aims to enhance convenience for consumers by enabling them to create grocery orders from 229 different Waitrose locations across the United Kingdom, including prominent urban centres such as Birmingham, Glasgow, London, Manchester, and Stirling. The service promises to deliver orders in 30 minutes or less, meeting the high expectations of modern consumers who prioritise speed and ease in their shopping experiences.
This partnership comes at a time when Waitrose has reported a staggering 140% increase in its average weekly on-demand grocery sales during the first six weeks of the year. Such growth highlights the changing consumer preferences towards rapid delivery services, as more than one million people in Britain now regularly use Just Eat for their grocery needs. The intensity of this trend is further underscored by Just Eat’s impressive network, which delivered an average of 12 grocery orders each minute to customers’ doors last year.
Customers utilising this service will have the opportunity to choose from a wide selection of Waitrose products, which includes both their newly updated premium No.1 range and the value-oriented Essential range. Later in the year, the offering will broaden to include over 550 Christmas products, featuring 175 new items specifically introduced for 2024. This vast array of choices ensures that customers can enjoy high-quality and ethically sourced goods, a commitment emphasized by Waitrose executive director James Bailey.
James Bailey articulated that the sustained demand for convenience food coupled with heightened expectations presents a substantial opportunity for Waitrose. He noted, ‘Partnering with Just Eat allows us to reach even more customers who want to be confident they are getting the same commitment to quality, taste, and ethical standards whenever and wherever they want to enjoy great food.’ This strategy aligns with Waitrose’s broader plans to open up to 100 convenience shops across the UK within the next five years.
Supporting this vision, Claire Pointon, Managing Director of Just Eat UK and Ireland, confirmed the paradigm shift in consumer behaviour, stating, ‘Many of today’s consumers no longer consider speed a luxury but a necessity. This is supported by Just Eat’s own research – three in four people who have ordered on-demand groceries believe it will become a part of their daily lives.’ As Waitrose joins Just Eat’s growing list of partners, the choice and value available to consumers continue to expand, reinforcing Just Eat’s objective of leading the evolution in how groceries are purchased and delivered.
The partnership between Waitrose and Just Eat demonstrates a significant advance in meeting consumer demands for fast and reliable grocery services.
