Following the news that Morrisons is partnering with Deliveroo to launch a new rapid delivery scheme from 130 of its stores:

Thomas Brereton, Retail Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view on the situation:

“Over the past few weeks, one of the major issues faced by supermarkets has been a surge in demand for home delivery options for food and groceries, as shoppers seek ways to limit exposure to others in stores. To cope with the strain, Morrisons has followed in the footsteps of McColl’s and M&S over the last month in joining forces with Deliveroo, which (alongside a pre-existing agreement with Co-op), continues to successfully weave itself into the UK grocery market through a multitude of savvy partnerships.

“Barring a few exceptions (e.g. Ocado’s Zoom), most supermarkets do not have the operational capabilities to compete with Deliveroo’s delivery time offer of c.30 minutes; and, given the waiting times for traditional home delivery orders (currently two to three weeks at most grocers), the concept of a rapid delivery of essential products will be enticing for a heightened proportion of shoppers.

“But as consumers are told not to panic buy, it is also important for retailers not to panic partner. There has been no indication about the length of these collaborations, so retailers must be wary of ceding too much power to third-party operatives – and could explain why major players – notably, Tesco and Sainsbury’s – are developing in-house alternatives instead.”