Iceland has partnered with last-mile delivery player Stuart to handle its shop-in-store, same-day scheduled delivery service.
The supermarket is working with Stuart to handle deliveries for customers who opt to shop in physical stores, but want couriers to handle getting their shopping home.
“This service combines the in-store shopping experience with the convenience of home delivery,” Stuart said.
Iceland has offered the in-store to door service for several years. It is offered free to shoppers spending £25 or more. Deliveries had been made using only Iceland’s own fleet of drivers.
“This new partnership with Stuart will bolster our existing in-store home delivery service, which has been a staple of the Iceland shopping experience for many years,” an Iceland Foods spokeswoman said. ”With more slots available for customers, our same-day delivery service will make shopping in-store more convenient than ever before.”
The service utilising Stuart’s large van fleet – which can “handle even the biggest grocery shops” – will be rolled out to 120 Iceland sites across the UK, following a successful nine-store trial. Shoppers can opt for home delivery when they have picked their items and are at the checkout.
“This new service gives customers complete flexibility, enabling access to the full range of Iceland’s products in-store, without the inconvenience of carrying heavy shopping home on public transport, worrying about frozen products melting in the back of a car, or having to cut their high street visit short,” Stuart said.
The partnership leverages Stuart’s sustainable delivery network, with more than half of deliveries completed using low-emission vehicles through its network of courier partners.
“We’re excited to be partnering with a leading brand such as Iceland to introduce innovative and sustainable delivery options that meet the evolving expectations of today’s shoppers,” said Ricardo Amorim, chief revenue officer at Stuart. “The scheduled same-day delivery service offers new levels of convenience to Iceland customers while maintaining the quality and choice they expect from in-store shopping.”
Iceland offers same-day delivery for online orders from several stores, with delivery available as quickly as within two hours. The minimum order value for online orders is £25 plus an additional delivery charge. In August, Iceland Foods announced a major expansion of its grocery partnership with Amazon, and plans to roll the service out across its store estate by the end of the year. Following issues with Amazon couriers not adhering to cold chain rules, Iceland began trialling a new “world first” merchant-fulfilled model in Newcastle last year, whereby orders are placed via the Amazon website, but are picked and delivered by Iceland through its own delivery infrastructure.
Stuart said its operation would “ensure that frozen and fresh items are delivered quickly and in perfect condition”.
The deal with Iceland will be welcomed by Stuart, which in May was ditched as a delivery partner by Co-op. Its couriers had been delivering grocery orders for the retailer since 2021.
The white-label delivery space has become more competitive this year after Deliveroo launched its Deliveroo Express service, and Just Eat its version, Jet Go, in the UK.
The launches were putting immense pressure on Stuart, industry sources said, since they provide better coverage of the UK, and potentially lower costs as “the platforms are happy to use white-label delivery as a loss leader”.
In its message to couriers at the time of Co-op’s move, Stuart said it would “remain active” and retain its delivery partnerships with Sainsbury’s (Chop Chop) and Tesco (Whoosh). Tesco Whoosh also uses Uber Direct to fulfil deliveries, and in April signed a deal with Deliveroo Express to handle rapid deliveries in Ireland on a four-store trial basis.
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