Waitrose has announced a surge in online delivery by 50% amid the current pandemic situation. The retailer had recently split with Ocado, the online retailer, which will be delivering Marks & Spencer products from September 2020. The end of the partnership left the retailer with no option but to cater to its online shoppers through its own website and deliver through its waitrose.com vans, a fleet of 940 vehicles. The retailer intends to add 400 more vans by the end of 2020 and is planning to open a second delivery depot in London by the end of May 2020.

The retailer is currently serving around 100,000 orders per week through its website, accounting for 11% of its revenue in March 2020, up from 5% a month ago. The 100,000 orders per week was set as target for September 2020 but the current situation of COVID-19 led to an increased demand for online orders and meant the retailer achieved the target in five weeks.

Source: Kantar Retail / This is Money