Amazon really is shaking up the groceries market in the UK and around the world. It has Amazon Pantry and Amazon Fresh here in the UK that can bring comestibles right to your door. And they’ve also bought US supermarket Whole Foods. And there was a deal in the UK with the Morrisons chain.
Tesco strikes back. Now the plan is to offer delivery within 1 hour. There is a case to suggest that they should get regular deliveries in order after last week’s cock up. As we wrote: Tesco suffers technical delivery glitch. In this case Tesco shoppers didn’t get their groceries owing to a tech problem. But Tesco do seem ambitious nonetheless: they want to get shopping to online shoppers within the hour. They’re calling it Tesco Now.
Tesco online MD Adrian Letts says: “From forgotten essentials to that crucial final ingredient, Tesco Now can get them to our customers’ door within the hour. Shoppers’ needs are changing and we want to offer a range of services that allow them to shop with us in a way that suits their needs. We look forward to hearing what they think of the new service.”
Amazon and others are also trying to crack the “within the hour’ delivery model. Deliveroo and others re obviously on top when it comes to food. At Tamebay we wonder what the demand is for other goods. It will always be a premium service and doubtless well-heeled shoppers in metropolitan areas will see the appeal and utility. But is it something that is really necessary?