tesco delivery van

Tesco has offered same-day delivery in London and the South East since 2014

Tesco has become the first UK supermarket to offer nationwide same-day delivery on online grocery orders.

Pipping rival Sainsbury’s to the post, Tesco is rolling out an express delivery service across 300 stores to cover over 99% of UK households.

Customers who place their order before 1pm can opt to have their shopping delivered from 7pm onwards that evening. The service costs between £3 and £8 – representing a premium on its standard delivery service, which costs between £1 and £7.

Tesco has offered same-day delivery in London and the South East since 2014 and says the service is becoming increasingly popular,with an 18% growth in demand  so far this year.

“Customers tell us they like getting their shopping delivered quickly and conveniently, and with our same day delivery service they can now order by lunch to get their shopping delivered for their evening meal,” said Tesco Online MD Adrian Letts.

Last week, Tesco store manager Matt Polson told The Grocer he had began offering same-day delivery in his store in Whitfield, Dover, following a trial.

The only other supermarkets to offer same-day delivery are Ocado and Sainsbury’s, but they are yet to achieve nationwide coverage.

Tesco has upped its game in speedy delivery this year, having launched one-hour delivery service Tesco Now last month. The service enables central London to order baskets of up to 20 items to be delivered within the hour for a fixed delivery fee of £7.99.