Sainsbury’s in 1hr pledge on deliveries

Sainsbury’s To You online home delivery service is launching “The 1hr delivery promise”, cutting down the maximum waiting time from two hours in a bid to take on rivals that include Tesco.com.

Tesco.com, which makes deliveries in two-hour time slots, is one of the strongest players in online home delivery.

Sainsbury’s To You is also offering customers a &£10 reimbursement off their next order for deliveries that fall outside the one-hour time slot. It has already tested the one-hour slot at seven stores and proposes to introduce the initiative to a further 60 stores, and roll it out to all 97 stores that operate the Sainsbury’s To You service by early 2005.

Sainsbury’s To You head of marketing Claire Harper says: “We’ve successfully trialled one-hour time slots and found sales have increased by an average of ten per cent. By introducing the promise, which includes a call to the customer if we are going to be late, plus a discount on the shopping, we are providing a unique service.”

As part of the roll-out, branding carrying “The 1hr delivery promise” will be introduced and delivery vans will have a makeover to support the pledge. In addition, there will be a marketing campaign using radio, direct mail, e-mail, PR and in-store marketing.

Sainsbury’s To You claims to cover 74 per cent of the country, and to receive 35,000 orders a week, while rival Tesco says it has coverage of 96 per cent of the UK from 270 stores and receives 120,000 orders a week.