Just Eat teams with Asda to launch rapid grocery delivery partnership in UK
Just Eat has announced a partnership with Asda, marking its first tie-up with a major grocer in the UK.
From January, Just Eat customers will be able to shop from five Asda stores, with the exact locations to be announced in the near future.
This builds on an existing relationship, which sees Just Eat delivering pizzas and meal deals from Asda Kitchen.
The service runs across 42 locations nationwide.
“We live in an on-demand world,” says Andrew Kenny, UK MD at Just Eat.
“We want to make sure we are getting our customers the food they want, when they want, when they want it. Our tie-up with Asda means we can help people access everything from store cupboard essentials to fresh groceries in a matter of minutes.”
Just Eat’s rivals Deliveroo and Uber Eats already have delivery agreements in place with some of the UK’s biggest supermarkets.
“We’re always looking for new ways to offer customers more choice and extend the number of delivery options available,” says Simon Gregg, VP of Online Grocery at Asda.
“The trial will also see us become more accessible to a wider customer base through Just Eat’s significant presence in the on-demand food delivery space.”
2021 RTIH Innovation Awards
Asda was among the companies who emerged victorious at RTIH’s 2021 retail technology awards.
The awards, sponsored by PMC, StoreSpace, Critizr, Marxent, QVALON and Selazar, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
We received a record number of submissions this year across 14 categories (you can find a full rundown of the 2021 shortlists here).
Our winners and highly commended companies were announced during an exclusive event that took place in central London last week and was attended by retailers, members of our judging panel, and sponsors.
Asda picked up the Most Innovative UK Retailer gong for the launch of musicMagpie’s SMARTDrop kiosks in-store.
These self-service kiosks enable customers to recycle their old and/or unwanted mobile phones in a safe and convenient way.
People can bring in their old phone, receive a valuation and get paid instantly with money transferred to their bank or PayPal account. The kiosk is fully automated and guides the customer through a few simple steps.
The device quality is assessed in real-time whilst the customer waits, and credentials are checked against several databases to prevent misuse of the service, including stolen devices. Finally, the device is deposited into the machine before authorising a credit to the customer's account.
The phones that are sold via the kiosks will be refurbished by musicMagpie to be sold back on, rented out or recycled responsibly.
Following a trial involving 15 kiosks across the Asda estate since November 2020, roll out will extend to nearly 300 of the retailer’s stores in 2022.
Connected customer experiences
Also in 2021, the Asda Retail Innovation team have focused on creating a connected customer experience.
A number of initiatives have been tested out in the Asda Stevenage concept store. Asda, for instance, launched its eSEL solution across 22,000 lines in November 2020. Since then a further 3,000 GM lines have received a fully integrated eSEL solution.
Following on from this, eSELs will be launched in the York Monk Cross store by January 2022. Asda plans to review further stores which this solution can be tested across.
Smart trolleys and digital screens
Following months of preparation, Asda is testing a smart trolley at the Stevenage store. This will lead to shoppers in the future simply being able to place their shopping in the cart and checkout once they’re done.
Although this project is in its early stages of testing and is currently being trialled amongst store colleagues and selected customers, the feedback so far has been promising with 90% of participants saying they’d use the smart trolley to complete their shopping.
Finally, as part of Asda’s sustainability programme and hassle free shopping experience push, the retailer has reduced the volume of printed Point of Sale presence across selected stores, including Stevenage, by introducing digital marketing tools to the Produce, BWS, Coffee and Gondola End areas.
The digital screens and video rails aim to create a more targeted campaign that is customer relevant. In addition, these tools will help quickly and efficiently change signage to reflect current promotions and stock levels, whilst taking a small step towards creating a greener environment.
