Deliveroo has launched a non-food retail offer – Deliveroo Shopping – allowing consumers to “seamlessly order a range of retail products, from electronics to petfood, from flowers to toys”.
The company said it will “dramatically expand” the selection of non-takeaway or grocery items offered in the coming months, covering categories including pharmacy, DIY, homeware, toys and petcare.
“This is a super exciting innovation for consumers,” said Eric French, Deliveroo’s chief operating officer. “Deliveroo is now catering for a wider set of consumer needs and occasions. Just as Deliveroo transformed the way people eat, we’re set to do the same to how people shop, bringing more of the local neighbourhood to people’s doors.”
The company said the launch marked “a major new step in its growth journey and a natural extension of its offer”.
Supermarkets already on Deliveroo, including Waitrose, Co-op, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, are increasing their ranges listed on the platform to bolster the Deliveroo Shopping selection, as is Boots, which is adding an extended Christmas gifting range.
The courier platform has also signed an exclusive deal with tools and hardware retailer Screwfix, which will join the platform with an initial range of around 500 products “helping provide a quick solution to issues at home”. The partnership follows the 2021 launch of Screwfix Sprint, the retailer’s rapid delivery service that delivers orders direct to site, within 60 minutes.
Consumers are already searching for non-food items on Deliveroo, the company said, with 71,000 monthly searches for pet products, a 76% increase in searches for home accessories in the past year, and 320,000 monthly searches for beauty and personal care.
Deliveroo made £250,000 sales of flowers in October (a 280% increase year on year), and between July and September sold £40k of Apple AirPods.
After their move into grocery through the pandemic, several courier apps and rapid grocers have started offering non-food items and partnering with non-grocery retailers. Deliveroo last year partnered with WH Smith and Boots, while rapid grocer Zapp stocks high-value items from LVMH and Apple.
Since earlier this month Just Eat app users have been able to shop for Lego on the platform, as part of a trial with Asda and the Lego Group. Deliveroo said users can already buy Lego at more than 100 grocery sites on its app.
Deliveroo added that its machine learning-based search and discovery functionality also allows Deliveroo Shopping users to browse for a gifting occasion in app, for example a birthday, and instantly be offered a curated selection of options.
“And this is just in time for Christmas, so whether people need an emergency last-minute gift or just want to order whenever and wherever it suits them, Deliveroo’s got your back,” French added.
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