UNP Co Op 42539 Amazon Prime Glasgow Saturday06

Source: The Co-op

Co-op’s ambition is for its groceries to be available on Amazon.co.uk nationwide

Co-op is making 10,000 SKUs available to buy on Amazon.co.uk, giving Prime members the ability to do “their full Co-op grocery shop” with same-day delivery and two-hour scheduled time slots.

Co-op products on Amazon will first be available to customers in Glasgow and surrounding areas such as Hamilton and Paisley, before availability is rolled out to other parts of the UK before the end of the year.

The convenience retailer’s ambition is for Co-op on Amazon to “become a nationwide service” it said. The Co-op is the third supermarket to make its groceries available on Amazon, after Morrisons and Booths.

Products will be picked and packed by local stores, and delivered by Amazon’s ‘Flex’ courier pool drivers.

“The pandemic has accelerated changes in consumer shopping trends and we’re driving forward with exciting plans to provide rapid kerb to kitchen grocery delivery services,” said Steve Murrells, group chief executive of Co-op.

“We are delighted to be working with Amazon. Its reach and leading technology and innovative approach means greater convenience for people in their communities,” he added.

The moves is part of Co-op’s plan to more than double online sales from £70m to £200m by the end of the year.

To reach this goal, the supermarket is also extending its partnership with delivery robot company Starship Technologies, increasing the number of autonomous vehicles operating and delivering Co-op groceries from 200 to 500 by the end of this year and bringing them to five new towns and cities.

The new locations include towns in Cambridgeshire, and the north of England.

Currently Starship robot deliveries are being made in Milton Keynes and Northampton.

“Co-op stores across the country are well placed to serve shoppers locally and a key part of our strategy is to further develop our ecommerce offer by using the competitive advantage of our store footprint to provide ultra-fast home deliveries,” said Jo Whitfield, chief executive of Co-op Food.

“As a convenience retailer, the ability to come into stores will always be important to customers, but we also know that they want flexible options online. Our commercial strategy is focused on getting closer to where they are to provide what they need, however and wherever they choose to shop with us,” she said.