The Co-op announces a partnership with Amazon Prime, that enables customers in the UK to complete a full online groceries shop with same-day delivery.
The supermarket chain is trying to push their online sales up to £200m from £70m. To help do this they are also extending their robot delivery service.
However, the GMB union accuses the Co-op of compromising on its ethics.
The partnership launched on Thursday in Glasgow and surrounding areas. It will then roll out to other regions by the end of this year.
Customers subscribed to Amazon Prime will be able to complete their shop on Amazon’s UK website. Same day delivery is available for free on all orders over £40, with two hour scheduled time slots. All orders below the £40 threshold will incur a £3.99 delivery fee, and there is a minimum order value of £15.
Increasing robot deliveries
Elsewhere, English towns Northampton and Milton Keynes already receive Co-op groceries delivered by autonomous robot vehicles. They are produced by Starship Technologies, a business set up by the founders of communications company Skype.
The retailer plans to have more robots in operation delivering its groceries by the end of the year. They hope to increase from 200 to 500, expanding the area to Cambridgeshire, followed by northern England.
Steve Murrells, chief executive of the Co-op group, says: “The pandemic has accelerated changes in consumer shopping trends”. In response, the firm are “driving forward with exciting plans to provide rapid kerb-to-kitchen grocery delivery services”. Mr Murrells shows his delight at working with Amazon. The tech giant has a huge reach, innovative approach, and is one of the leaders in their field. This means “greater convenience for people in their communities”.
Reactions to the news
However, not everyone is pleased by the news, as Andy Prendergast, GMB national officer, criticises it. He says, “It’s really disappointing to see a company with a proud ethical heritage like Co-op teaming up with Amazon: a tax-evading multinational with a horrifying health and safety record”.
Mr Prendergast believes that Amazon treats its warehouse workers “like robots”. “They are knocked unconscious, suffer broken bones and are taken away in ambulances in their desperate pursuit of unrealistic targets,” he adds.
The union also has concerns over the amount of tax paid by Amazon in the UK. As well as the firm’s failure to recognise a union to protect the rights of its workers.
Meanwhile, Andy Brian, partner at a law firm specialising in retail, says the partnership between Co-op and Amazon is “really where the future lies”. Amazon have the ability to successfully and profitably deliver customers their orders in a short space of time. Consumers can easily order products online or on mobile devices, with no need for physical shops at all. No one else on the market is able to do this in the same way.
Mr Brian thinks that “demand for this type of fast, no-hassle service will only increase in line with the ability for consumers to order products easily, with one-click, directly from social media or through QR codes”.
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