admin For the first time, Deliveroo has started delivering Sainsbury’s food, as the supermarket chain looking for capturing fast growth in Britain’s appetite for takeaways.
The pizza delivery service launched across four cities on Monday, making Sainsbury’s the first UK supermarket to offer hot takeaway food through Deliveroo’s app
During the two-month trial, Sainsbury’s pizza counters will open between midday until 10pm from Monday to Saturday and from 11am until normal store closing times on Sundays.
Pizzas will be cooked to order and cost the same as they do in-store, with the addition of Deliveroo’s service charge which is typically £2.50 per order. Sauces, sides, salads, soft drinks and sweets will also be offered.
With the Deliveroo’s latest service, customers within range of Sainsbury’s stores in Cambridge, Selly Oak in Birmingham, Hove in Sussex, and Pimlico and Hornsey in London, can order pizza to their door.
Supermarkets are looking to take a slice of the UK’s £8.1bn food delivery market which grew 13.4 per cent between 2017 and 2018, according to market data company MCA.
The fast-growing delivery app, which primarily fulfils orders for restaurants, already offers cold food and drink deliveries from Co-Op stores in some locations and smaller convenience stores.
That rapid growth threatens supermarkets’ sales as shoppers increasingly swap home-cooked food for the convenience of a delivery.
Last year Asda teamed up with Just Eat on a trial to deliver pizza directly to customers. Asda announced earlier this month that the service would be rolled out to 50 stores by the end of this year.
Sainsbury’s boss Mike Coupe failed to seal a £12bn mega-merger with Asda that he hoped would give the two supermarket chains the scale to confront challenges they face from all sides.
The company’s sales have been falling amid fierce competition from delivery apps and discount stores while further trouble could be ahead with online giants like Amazon making steps into the groceries market.
Sainsbury’s sales dropped 1.2 per cent in its latest quarter despite large price discounts across a range of products.
Clodagh Moriarty, Sainsbury’s chief digital officer said he recognised shoppers’ growing desire for convenience.
“We’re excited to see what our customers think before deciding if, how and where we go next with the offer,” Ms Moriarty said.
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