Waitrose has launched its first ‘delivery hatch’ which will allow the upmarket retailer to extend its opening hours for customers using the Deliveroo and Uber Eats apps to order groceries.
The new feature, which will be available at the newly refurbished Finchley Road branch from today (21 August), will see partners working from inside the hatch sorting orders, while a delivery driver can more efficiently collect the order from the pick-up point on the other side of the hatch.
Waitrose retail director Tina Mitchell told Grocery Gazette: “Because the growth is so great at times, it’s been quite challenging for our branch partners, so this really helps the operation. It also means that we can extend our opening hours for that customer as well.
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“Because of the nature of on-demand grocery, you see the peaks at the latter part of the day. So if you want your bottle of chilled wine at midnight, and our license will allow you to do it, you’re not going to have to rely on Waitrose being open, because you’ll still be able to order it.”
It comes as on-demand grocery has become a “huge business” for Waitrose.
Mitchell added that the grocer’s partnerships with Deliveroo and Uber Eats are “bringing new customers to the brands and it’s exceeded all expectation.”
“Customers really loving being able to access Waitrose in a different way.”
The news comes as Waitrose has unveiled plans to open up to 100 new convenience shops over the next five years as part of a £1bn investment.
