Tesco Delivery Price Increase 13 July at 9:58AM in Food Shopping & Groceries 91 replies 11.9K views

JaneDoeJohnDoe

GaleSF63 said:

If we aren't paying a delivery charge we are paying in some other way.  We all pay for all of it (including their profit) somewhere along the line. The most we can do is take advantage when we can with offers and hopefully pay a bit less than the next person. 

However it's difficult to see Tesco's reasoning behind this change as it probably doesn't make a lot of difference overall, and it just draws attention to the charges. If they want to put the charges up they'd be better sneaking 50p onto two slots a week or similar. 

Might be Tesco trying to shout out "we match ALDI" on store price. They have to make up the money somewhere so bung on delivery!
Tesco then matches Aldi with low cost goods & will also deliver them too (for a price!)
But I will reiterate again a £4.50 slot that was previously about £2 for late eve delivery is in my opinion a rip-off.  Yes 50p added across  the board much more open & fairer to those shoppers on low incomes who shop say every 2/3 weeks.

warby68

£4.50 is hardly a rip off for the service - what other services can you get for £4.50? If it was a rip-off there would be lots of entrepreneurial types offering to do your shopping for you and undercut them but nobody does. I think its about £13 per hour for a home help.
The fact is the £2 slots were a bargain but of course its sad to lose the bargain and painful to see a sudden large hike. Noone mentions the people that were stuck with the £6/£7 slots previously though - they're getting nearly the same amount off.
The supermarket models must be very shaken up. I expect there to be lots more changes and trial & error as they try things out in a changed market.  Its a very low margin business despite what some people on here claim so making the whole package pay is not easy. They've just been through 4 months of actually having to act like charities by providing a service at little or no cost to vulnerable people and effectively ditching a lot of their regulars to do so. Some comments prove they won't gain new customersfrom it, plenty will walk as soon as the 'charity' element ceases and the service isn't vital.  I think the supermarkets on the whole did very well and the continuity of supply for the most part is to be commended. I don't particularly like the powerful supermarket as a model for food supply, but these businesses responded very well to this crisis so credit where credit's due.

JaneDoeJohnDoe

warby68 said:

£4.50 is hardly a rip off for the service - what other services can you get for £4.50? If it was a rip-off there would be lots of entrepreneurial types offering to do your shopping for you and undercut them but nobody does. I think its about £13 per hour for a home help.
The fact is the £2 slots were a bargain but of course its sad to lose the bargain and painful to see a sudden large hike. Noone mentions the people that were stuck with the £6/£7 slots previously though - they're getting nearly the same amount off.
The supermarket models must be very shaken up. I expect there to be lots more changes and trial & error as they try things out in a changed market.  Its a very low margin business despite what some people on here claim so making the whole package pay is not easy. They've just been through 4 months of actually having to act like charities by providing a service at little or no cost to vulnerable people and effectively ditching a lot of their regulars to do so. Some comments prove they won't gain new customersfrom it, plenty will walk as soon as the 'charity' element ceases and the service isn't vital.  I think the supermarkets on the whole did very well and the continuity of supply for the most part is to be commended. I don't particularly like the powerful supermarket as a model for food supply, but these businesses responded very well to this crisis so credit where credit's due.

I think you miss my point - if a slot is £4.50 delivery but previously was £2 the cost has more than doubled.

That is a rip-off. Especially when others do offer the service for £2 or even less. Asda have £1 & £2 slots. Sainsbury's 50p & £1 slots & Morrisons do have £1.50 & £2 slots.    You call them bargain slots. I call them normal slots & the higher cost ones premium slots. If a supermarket wants you to buy their goods, then if they charge too much you will not use.  If Tesco wants somebody to buy their goods then they are not making it easy. Yes they are a business with shareholders. They did not have to act like charities as they sold their goods & invested in new vans & new staff to make more profit. No one made them open up more slots. They did so as they wanted to flog their wares as much as possible! And if they did make a loss on delivering to Mrs Smith or Mr Jones it was because they wanted their custom to continue once panic-buyer mode was finished & poor slot pricing at the time.

To try & get a slot in the main Lockdown was extremely difficult. So that is all slots full up & each van at max = profit! Any non minimum spend basket had extra charges applied.

A home help provides different services & is not just a shopper in uniform.

Yes the people who were in a financial position to pay a high cost for delivery have gained but if you can afford to pay over a fiver to get your shopping delivered at 9am on a Saturday & not 10pm on a Wednesday for a quid then you are fortunate. You will then most likely get a monthly season ticket.

Many people who are unable to go out due to Covid19 or other health worries will be on a limited income & will not spend more than about £30 on groceries per week or even £55/60 in a couple of weeks. So a hefty delivery charge is a lot to add when budgeting.

Tesco are also charging in Aug £1.50 for Click & Collect across the board. Today I had a 2 til 4pm slot FREE. When I turned up at around 3pm there were 5 members of staff just sitting around outside the bays waiting for business.

The chap I spoke to said that Weds afternoons were always quiet & they only had 3 more within the hour!!

So if Tesco are going to charge £1.50 when previously this slot was FREE I am assuming it is to pay the wages of the staff who are just sitting around. Let's just say that my next scheduled order is with ASDA. £1 delivery slot available or a Free C&C! Decisons decisons!!

GaleSF63

You can't always take the delivery charge in isolation.  There's not much point in swooping in on a £1 or £2 delivery charge and then finding too late that the shop with the £5 charge has offers on 2 or 3 things you want that bring the overall cost down. 

It's time-consuming making sure you are getting the best deals!

mumf

If I have to pay a fiver for a delivery ( and in the early days of internet delivery,we did!) then to me,that is a bargain. If I go and shop in person,I have to drive a ten mile round trip.That immediately brings up fuel,wear and tear and time.HMRC still use a model of 45p per mile for claiming travel costs on tax returns - and that's been the figure for donkey's years!
So going on that ,my trip to Tesco has cost me £4.50 already.

Then I have to pick my shopping,and with current distancing rules,that's going to take the best part of an hour. Bear in mind that when you get a delivery,someone does that for you.I believe that shopfloor workers are on about £9 per hour.Lets be generous,and say that person does that in 30 minutes - thats £4. 50.

So I have got my basket of goods,which I have put in.I then have to unload onto the till,reload into bags,put into the car,take out of the car into home,and then put away.I would say that whole experience takes teo hours.At my own work rate (  but my free time is priceless!) that would be £24.
If you have it delivered though,another person has to be employed by Tesco,along with a van that all has to be paid for!

Why would you want to go shopping in person,when you can have it delivered at such a bargain price,or dare I suggest at a loss?

JaneDoeJohnDoe

GaleSF63 said:

You can't always take the delivery charge in isolation.  There's not much point in swooping in on a £1 or £2 delivery charge and then finding too late that the shop with the £5 charge has offers on 2 or 3 things you want that bring the overall cost down. 

It's time-consuming making sure you are getting the best deals!

Yes can be time consuming but if on a low income it is the same as visiting if possible several shops on foot etc to get the bargains.
And if you have the time use it wisely to save. Many people on low fixed incomes  do have the time.  More stimulation than daytime tv !
My tips - always know your prices - bulk up when you can on the offers as the basics like 1kg carrots or basic bread are generally the same or near same price everywhere. 
-do not always assume traditional  cheaper supermarket offers best prices on your goods. Have seen instances where Waitrose & Sainsbury's cheaper by 50p than Asda & item was not on special.
-If your online basket just a few pounds short of min level consider buying big bulky things like Toilet roll 12/24 packs or Kitchen Towel 6 packs to reach target. Do not exactly have a use by date!
Definitely a juggling act to save  money.

JWM

Sorry not sure its been mentioned, but as well as the flat priced £4.50 hour slot, my Tesco is also offering a 'Flexi Saver Slot' for £3. This is a 4 hour window (ie 8-12)  - exact time to be confirmed by text on the day.

Seems fair.

KxMx

I did wonder what price the flexi slots would be, thank you.

£3 is less than we've been paying but more than some of the flexi slots cost currently. 

badger09

JWM said:

Sorry not sure its been mentioned, but as well as the flat priced £4.50 hour slot, my Tesco is also offering a 'Flexi Saver Slot' for £3. This is a 4 hour window (ie 8-12)  - exact time to be confirmed by text on the day.

Seems fair.

That's odd as Tesco website doesn't mention any Flexi Saver slots.
My Priority (8 hour) slots currently costing me £2, all show exactly the same as the standard Fixed 1 hour slots, £4.50 from 3 August. Will be beneficial for me to sign up for the Delivery Saver at £7.99 pm. 

KxMx

Showing for me.