Tesco click and collect

Tesco plans to offer click and collect at 300 stores in 2014

Tesco is set to take its groceries click & collect service beyond its store network for the first time in a move that will allow shoppers to collect their shopping from schools, libraries and sports centres.

The retailer has launched a trial of the service at three locations in York, with more set to follow before Christmas, including locations in London and Dingwall, Scotland.

Shoppers participating in the York trial order their goods online as usual but can then choose to collect them from Huntington Secondary School, Monk Bar Car Park or Grimston Bar Park & Ride.

Slots at Huntingdon School and Monk Car Park are available seven days a week and Grimston Bar Park & Ride is available from Monday to Saturday.

Tesco was the first to launch a drive-through click & collect in the UK, in 2010. It now offers the service at 200 stores and plans to increase this to 300 next year.

“Customers up and down the country already love using click & collect because they can do their shopping trip in a matter of a few minutes, even with the whole family in tow,” said Simon Belsham, managing director of Tesco.com.

“We think customers are really going to like the extension of the service because it makes things even more convenient for them and it means they fit their shopping in and around their lifestyles.”

Although The Grocer recently revealed IGD research suggesting fewer than one in five shoppers had used click & collect in the previous month, Tesco said it was encouraged that a third of shoppers who had used click & collect during the period had told the IGD they intended to use click & collect more in the future.

Asda is also looking to extend click & collect by developing a network of commuter hubs.