M&S ends delivery trial as focus shifts to Ocado venture
M&S is ending its grocery delivery trial this month as it shifts its focus to its joint venture with Ocado.
The upmarket retailer is due to introduce an online grocery delivery service with Ocado when its 19-year contract with Waitrose ends in September 2020.
It had been testing the in-store picking model at its Colliers Wood, Merton and Camden, north London branches. The trial, which launched in May last year, offers £10 off orders of £50 and over. It is open to all customers as opposed to exclusively for the retailer’s Sparks loyalty scheme, as other past trials have been.
M&S said its prior online delivery trials were “uneconomical due to the high cost of manually picking from store”, moving stock from distribution centres to stores and store replenishment, as well as customers’ basket size when it announced its £750m deal with Ocado last month.
“Developing best-in-class technology and investing in fulfilment centres would delay the implementation of our transformation programme and carry significant execution risk,” it added.
A spokeswoman for M&S said its joint venture is the “most profitable and scalable way” for it to offer food deliveries for customers.
Source: The Grocer


