Overview
- Waitrose announced on Monday that it will permanently extend rapid grocery delivery windows at 35 UK stores, with most locations fulfilling orders until midnight and selected high‑demand shops offering 24‑hour delivery.
- The decision follows a World Cup trial that began on 23 June across more than 50 stores and showed sustained ordering, including a reported 17% spike around England’s match with Croatia and before Scotland’s game with Morocco.
- The extended hours apply only to app-based orders placed through Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat and do not change in‑store opening times or allow alcohol to be delivered outside each shop’s licensed trading hours.
- Customers will be offered thousands of Waitrose and branded items, from fresh produce and ready meals to toiletries and cleaning essentials, with some orders arriving in as little as 20 minutes depending on location and platform.
- Waitrose, which operates about 320 shops, said the targeted 35‑store roll‑out reflects demand‑driven expansion and underscores the supermarket’s growing reliance on third‑party platforms for fast grocery fulfilment.