Starship Technologies and Co-op expand partnership in Northampton

Starship Technologies and Co-op have boosted their partnership in Northampton, with an additional 31,000 households in the town now able to access grocery delivery via a fleet of the former’s robots.

A year to the day since the launch of the service in Northampton, residents in Boothville, Great Billing, Hopping Hill and Spinney Hill will now be able to benefit from on demand delivery from a further three Co-op stores. The online orders are picked from the retailer’s stores.

Co-op was the first UK supermarket to use autonomous robot deliveries.

The latest development means that deliveries are now made from six of its stores in Northampton, with communities in Wootton, Upton, Duston, Abington and Weston Favell already able to use the service.

Breaking news - Starship has just hit 2,000,000 autonomous deliveries. Only 9 months ago we announced we had reached 1,000,000 (it took us 6 years to get there) and now we have become the first autonomous delivery company in the world to double it! pic.twitter.com/397chcaqSW
— Starship Technologies (@StarshipRobots) October 19, 2021

Chris Conway, Co-op’s Head of E-commerce, says: “We are committed to exploring new and innovative ways to increase access to our products and services. Our members and our customers lead busy lives and ease, speed and convenience is at the heart of our approach.”

“Co-op stores across the country are well placed to serve shoppers locally and a key part of our strategy is to further develop our e-commerce offer by using our store footprint to provide same-day and, rapid, home deliveries”

“As a convenience retailer, the ability to come into stores will always be important to customers, but we also know that they want flexible options online, and so we are focused on getting closer to where our customers are, to provide what they need, however and wherever they choose to shop with us.”

Andrew Curtis, UK Operations Manager at Starship Technologies, comments: “Since launching our service a year ago we have been moved by the extremely positive reaction to the robots and how they have been embraced as part of the local community.”

“While the service has provided the benefits of contactless delivery during the pandemic this past year, we have also seen how people have welcomed the convenience and positive environmental impact of autonomous delivery for ‘top up’ grocery shopping.”

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