Sainsbury’s expands online delivery service amid coronavirus lockdown
Good news for Sainsbury’s online customers. It’s becoming easier to get a delivery slot during the coronavirus outbreak.
A message on the grocery giant’s website reads: “We have been working hard to expand our service. More slots are now available and we are able to offer some of them to other customers.”
It adds: “Customers who are vulnerable will get priority access and are able to book slots in advance of anyone else. We’re releasing new slots regularly so please check back if you can’t see any available.”
Social media backlash
Sainsbury’s recently ran a social media campaign, encouraging people to “roll up their sleeves, dust off their pans and get stuck into our 30 Dish Challenge”.
“Follow this thread for daily inspiration and share your culinary creations using #30DishChallenge,” it tweeted on 1st May.
Enter a number of disgruntled customers. “I have been registered on http://gov.uk site as extremely vulnerable since 24th March, yet your webs6still insists I am not on the list and refuses to offer me a delivery slot.... "Feeding the nation".... my arse....."Feeding your ego and profit margins" more like!!!” said Amanda M.
“I would if I could get any shopping delivered. I’m shielding and you won’t recognise it,” commented Mrs Blue Sky.
Marianne Whitfield, meanwhile, stated: “I fed my kids beans on toast tonight and they are still happy. I don't really need inspiration, I need you to sort out how my 94 year old FIL can get the online deliveries he's been getting for the last umpteen years but can't now.”
Work in progress
Sainsbury’s recently reported that it had increased the number of online delivery slots available weekly by nearly 50% and the ambition is to deliver 600,000 slots per week.
Tesco, by way of comparison, has gone from 590,000 in the first week of the coronavirus crisis, to over one million. The plan is to hit 1.2 million slots in the near future.
Sainsbury’s talked online delivery numbers last month as Chief Executive Mike Coupe said the retailer would take a £500 million profit hit from the costs of keeping staff and customers safe from Covid-19.
At the same time, however, Sainsbury’s expects profits for the year to be in line with City expectations, due to saving £450 million in business rates under the government’s business aid scheme, and also a surge in grocery sales.
