Waitrose & Partners is extending the trial of While You’re Away, a service which allows the UK supermarket to deliver groceries to customers inside the home. They will even put them away while the customers are out.
Following positive feedback and regular use of the service from the initial 50 customers who have taken part in the trial, the retailer will increase the number of customers participating in phase two of the trial by 200 per cent.
Potential to ‘revolutionise’ the way people shop
According to Waitrose, the purpose of extending the trial to a wider customer base is to gather more information and data before potentially rolling it out more broadly in the future.
“Having to stay home for a delivery can be incredibly disruptive to your day and many of our customers now demand more flexibility,” JLP Ventures Head of Business Development Richard Ambler said.
“This service has great potential to revolutionise the way people do their shopping in the UK and the goal of extending this trial is to find just how much of an appetite there is for the service.
“So far, the response from customers has been hugely positive and we welcome anyone that is interested in the service to visit our website and sign up.”
How it works
Using Yale smart-lock technology, the customer will grant access to a Waitrose delivery driver. They do this by setting a temporary code for the lock, which a secure app then sends to Waitrose. The driver’s device then receives the time the customer has booked for the delivery. Once the driver has made the delivery, the device deletes the code.
The driver will put refrigerated and frozen goods away. They’ll also leave other groceries on the kitchen counter, or as instructed by the customer. The whole delivery is captured on a chest-cam that the driver wears. The customer can request the chest-cam video for the next working day.