Tesco expands home delivery services to meet surge in demand

UK retailer Tesco has expanded its home delivery and click-and-collect services following a sharp increase in demand that led to shoppers reporting difficulties in securing online delivery slots. The firm’s delivery and collection capacity has risen from 660,000 to around 780,000 in the past two weeks, with plans to increase this by another 100,000 in the coming weeks. Tesco has also added over 200 new vans and recruited another 2,500 drivers and over 5,000 pickers, as part of the delivery expansion.

Last week, Tesco said it was limiting shoppers to only 80 items per online order. Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis said the Covid-19 pandemic has

“led to unprecedented levels of demand for grocery shopping services. We’re doing everything we can to increase the number of slots available and to support vulnerable people.”

Meanwhile, online grocer Ocado announced it was recruiting an extra 3,000 staff to work in its logistics division to meet the current surge in demand.