Capitalising on the easing of Covid-19 lockdown rules, UK retailer Waitrose says it is seeing in uptick in Brits who are booking holidays having food delivered to their favorite destinations in the UK.
Last week, Waitrose.com saw its biggest ever week of online orders – 163,000 – an increase of 185% compared to the start of the year. Customer orders on Waitrose.com for deliveries to vacation spots including Truro and Weston-Super-Mare have been popular as customer demand reaches an unprecedented peak.
Since the beginning of the of the pandemic, Waitrose has increased capacity by 100,000 weekly online orders. It has also added 35% more driver hours to its fleet of delivery vans to cope with demand.
“As lockdown eases, people are getting organised and looking forward to a much-needed break,” Dominic Jones, eCommerce operations manager at Waitrose, says.”Ordering a food shop to arrive on the first day of your holiday is one of the many perks of online shopping and we are working to maximum capacity for our online deliveries to help ensure everyone can have delicious food and drink while enjoying a holiday in this country.”
The supermarket expects there to be an increase in orders in Swaffham and North Walsham in Norfolk; Saxmundham in Suffolk; Menai Bridge in North Wales; and East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. The retailer noted that Google searches in the UK for the term ‘staycation’ are at an all-time high – up 336% compared to 2019 as Brits remain at home or travel with the Uk.
Waitrose.com now delivers to 90% of the UK, from Cornwall to Scotland, from around two-thirds of its 337 shops and with two online fulfillment centres in Coulsdon and Enfield supporting the high demand in London. Waitrose also offers a Click & Collect services for groceries in selected branches.
