Sainsbury's becomes first supermarket to offer one-hour delivery

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Sainsbury’s has announced it is bringing back a home delivery service by bicycle in London, more than 130 years after it first operated the service.

Customers will be able to order up to 20 items from Sainsbury’s Chop Chop app and receive them within an hour.

This makes Sainsbury’s the only UK supermarket to offer delivery within 60 minutes.

The service, which comes at cost of £4.99, will be available to customers across south and west London from Wednesday.

Sainsbury’s first offered home delivery from its Croydon Branch in 1882.

Customers had to place orders at the store which were then delivered by carts, pulled by horses, or delivered by hand.

Bicycles and tricycles came in to use at the turn of the century, Sainsbury’s then purchased its first Model T van in 1915.

Jon Rudoe, Sainsbury’s director of digital and technology, said the trial will give customers a new way to shop.

“In Wandsworth customers are using the new one hour delivery service to buy forgotten items, or emergency goods when they cannot leave their home, or have invited guests on the spur of the moment,” Rudoe said.

The service will be rolled out in other areas in London if it proves popular.

Sainsbury’s new service might be an attempt to compete against Amazon, which launched its own food delivery service in the UK in 68 central and east London postcodes.

Britain’s big four supermarkets are also facing a battle against the rise of German discounters Aldi and Lidl, which continue to win customers with their low prices and increased store numbers.

On Monday, Aldi said it is planning to spend £300 million to refurbish its UK stores despite a fall in profits.

Aldi’s announcement came in its 2015 results, which revealed a 12 per cent sales surge to a record £7.7 billion, but a 1.8 per cent dip in operating profits to £255.6 million.