Ocado’s management believes same-day deliveries are pricey and expect large premiums but it is good to be in the service for further improvement.
Ocado, the online supermarket based in the UK, announced that same-day deliveries are now available for its customers.
In an email, it said, “Need ingredients for tonight’s supper or just craving your favourite snack? Express It.”
“Yep, same-day deliveries are now a thing and we’ve aptly named them Express It Slots. Here’s the gist: you’ll find these new same-day slots on the usual booking page and you have until 11am to book a delivery for after 4pm the same day. All onboard?”
Ocado Group Chief Executive Tim Steiner recently said he doubts that the “immediacy premium market will ever be as large as the big basket market.” This is due to the price and premium that comes with rapid delivery, he argued.
The Zoom by Ocado rapid delivery offering has “probably another 12 to 18 months of development to really make it into the product I’d like to see and to really make it work brilliantly.”
“It’s very good today from a shopper’s perspective. It’s got a bit of work to do from an automation perspective and an ease for the people that operate it, both the courier types and the operators inside Zoom.”
“I think we’ve got an interesting future, I just don’t think that the immediacy premium market will ever be as large as the big basket market. I’m pleased we’re in it because we are learning and we’re continuing to improve,” Steiner concluded.