Hartlepool's Asda store to begin one-hour express delivery service

The service gives customers access to Asda’s full online range of more than 30,000 grocery products for delivery within the hour if they live within a three-mile radius of a store in the scheme and order up to 70 items.

But the cost for each delivery will be £8.50 regardless of how many items are ordered.

A trial in stores in Halifax, Poole, Rotherham and Walsall in June exceeded bosses’ expectations with the number of initial orders higher than predicted.

Hartlepool’s Marina Way store will be one of 96 branches to adopt the express delivery service

The supermarket giant also recently extended its partnership with Uber Eats to more than 300 stores, although the number of products available is far smaller.

If the latest stage of the rollout is successful, bosses hope to expand it further.

Simon Gregg, Asda’s vice president of online grocery, said: “We are rolling out our express delivery service to almost 100 stores after a trial showed there was a clear gap in the market for a speedy delivery service offering our full online product range for delivery within one hour.

“As the only grocer to offer this service, we have seen a significant number of customers access this option, with slots regularly selling out at our pilot stores.”

Rivals including Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury’s already offer one-hour – or faster – delivery services through Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Amazon and other providers although none offer a full range of products.

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