Waitrose introducing charges for home deliveries

Mickey666

gordon_harris said:

Mickey666 said:

Doc_N said:

stig said:

Can ask some of you who won’t pay for delivery, as I’m genuinely baffled.

why do you think that it’s reasonable for you to have your shopping picked, packed and delivered to your home for exactly the same price as those who travel to the supermarket, select their own shopping, pack it up and take it home?

I ask because clearly the supermarkets do charge for delivery, they need to pay for the staff time, vans and drivers out of their sales income.  Nothing a business offers is “free” as ultimately it must be funded  by them and so must come from their customers somehow. What “free delivery” means is these delivery costs are split across all customers in their pricing strategy. A delivery charge means the cost is targeted at the actual users of the service.

im genuinely interested to know why you think this service (which as others have explained saves a great deal of time and effort for you) should be built into the costs borne by all customers? If groceries cost the same in store and delivered, why on earth isn’t it reasonable to pay a small fee to get them to you?

Stig

In a sense, I agree with you.  But Waitrose is a little different in that it's the most expensive supermarket, by quite some margin, and the profit margins it works on are such that it can absorb more easily the extra costs of delivery.  It's quite easy for customers to move to another supermarket to get lower prices which will more than cover the cost of the delivery charge there.

There's also the point that customers who have home delivery don't avail themselves of the very costly facilities which have to be provided for stores - toilets, customer service desks, car parks etc etc. It cuts both ways - you could argue that customers having home deliveries are saving stores money by not using the stores.

. . . only if NO customers used the stores.  What would you imagine the cost difference would be for 100% of customers using a store and 80%, or even 50%?  My bet is that there'd be very little cost saving  at all.  Stores would still have to open, be heated, be lit, have customer toilets, have staff on checkouts and filling shelves etc.

The fact that Waitrose is expensive is irrelevant.  It's obviously not too expensive for its existing customers who presumably choose to shop there for their own good reasons, so I'd be really surprised if they suddenly defected just because of a few pounds delivery charge.  As Stig rightly pointed out, delivery is an additional service and it seems reasonable to charge for it.

I understand why people say things like this, but in the long run this is a bit short sighted. If 50% of people switched to online then it would have a massive difference on how supermarkets operate - they'd switch to a hub delivery model, they would shut a certain percentage of stores, they would cut store staff, and so on.

Also people often talk about these issues as if they're a question of fairness. In reality, it's completely irrelevant whether people "should" have to pay delivery charges, it's a business decision. If the delivery charge causes supermarkets to lose out on customers (i.e. to supermarkets that have cheaper delivery services) then they'll change the price.

Spot on!  
Personally, I'm amazed that supermarket charges for home delivery is so cheap.  I bet no one here would be willing to spend an hour of their time to go to the supermarket, walk up and down the aisles with my shopping list, go through the checkout rigmarole then transport the whole lot to my doorstep . . . and all for a fiver!

I'd be happy to pay at least double that for my weekly shop (but don't tell the supermarkets!).

MrsStepford

Waitrose is By Appontment to the Queen. it's not Lidl. Waitrose is a co-operative so after investing in the business, employees get bonuses. Therefore the business model is completely different to that of Tesco.

Waitrose processes its own milk, bought from farms which it has been dealing with for 20 years and it has won a Compassion in World Farming dairy award, every year since 2011. Waitrose hasn't allowed farmers supplyling it with own-brand food, to feed genetically modified feed or GM soya, for any range, not just organic, since 2016.. You pay more, because you get a better quality and that's what Waitrose customers want and will pay for. 

I emailed Waitrose & Partners about delivery charges. I was told that in the past 12 months, online delivery has become a much bigger part of the business and therefore they can't continue to absorb the cost of picking, packing, storing and delivery. 

Waitrose didn't explain WHY there has been an increase in online sales, but I suspect that it's not so much the pandemic, as people returning to Waitrose because Ocado has linked to Marks & Spencer. If you want Waitrose food, you can only buy it from Waitrose now. I'm sure that Ocado's woeful service during the pandemic also contributed, however. Online delivery is great for older people, those with mobility issues and parents who don't want to drag their kids around a supermarket, as well. 

I gave my name and address and the customer care agent must have checked me on the system as she addressed me as Mrs <Surname> and I had used just <first name> and <surname > on my email. I was told that all feedback by Waitrose customers on delivery, is being captured and fed to the team handling this at Head Office. 

So, if you're a Waitrose online delivery customer, you can give your name, address and postcode in an email to the address on the website and give your suggestions.

If you just want a rant because you want free delivery, it ain't happening, try shopping at  Iceland instead. 

I looked all around the internet and found just two dark stores for London btw. I know that my deliveries come from my local store, which is quite small, compared to local Sainsbury's. The best supermarket I have visited in UK was Waitrose Salisbury which is awesome. It even has clothes and a cookery school. 

MysteryMe

I've just checked the availability of slots again for my Waitrose and the situation is the same as when I made my observation a few days ago.  I can book a delivery for Tuesday and all days thereafter. Now this level of availability was unheard of a few weeks ago so there has either been a dramatic fall in customers wanting to order online or Waitrose have greatly increased availability. This is a store that is still not charging for delivery.  My observation then as it is now is that not being able to run close to full capacity is an even more sure fire way of Waitrose losing money and that introducing delivery charges is unlikely to increase demand.   I actually think shopper loyalty is less prevalent with online shopping. It's exactly the same process whether someone orders from Waitrose or Sainsbury's.  For everyday items I don't think there is such a huge difference in pricing say between Waitrose and supermarkets traditionally aligned to their target customer - Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's so I can well imagine that there will be shoppers who are only using Waitrose because of the free delivery and once that changes will revert back to M&S etc if not totally at least partially.  As a few have pointed out, there are several factors in play and it's certainly not as simplistic as some posters seem to think.  I think Waitrose made a mistake lowering the minimum spend to £40 whilst still offering free delivery and that has created a rod for it's own back. It will be interesting how things develop. 

NeilCr

MysteryMe said:

I've just checked the availability of slots again for my Waitrose and the situation is the same as when I made my observation a few days ago.  I can book a delivery for Tuesday and all days thereafter. Now this level of availability was unheard of a few weeks ago so there has either been a dramatic fall in customers wanting to order online or Waitrose have greatly increased availability. This is a store that is still not charging for delivery.  My observation then as it is now is that not being able to run close to full capacity is an even more sure fire way of Waitrose losing money and that introducing delivery charges is unlikely to increase demand.   I actually think shopper loyalty is less prevalent with online shopping. It's exactly the same process whether someone orders from Waitrose or Sainsbury's.  For everyday items I don't think there is such a huge difference in pricing say between Waitrose and supermarkets traditionally aligned to their target customer - Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's so I can well imagine that there will be shoppers who are only using Waitrose because of the free delivery and once that changes will revert back to M&S etc if not totally at least partially.  As a few have pointed out, there are several factors in play and it's certainly not as simplistic as some posters seem to think.  I think Waitrose made a mistake lowering the minimum spend to £40 whilst still offering free delivery and that has created a rod for it's own back. It will be interesting how things develop. 

Partners son is a Waitrose delivery person

He got taken on (with others) as they (well this branch anyway) were greatly increasing the delivery capacity. From what he says about the sort of places he delivers to I doubt many will quibble at a £5 delivery charge

What Waitrose have to say

"Waitrose has seen massive growth of its online business through the pandemic and since its split with Ocado in September last year. The supermarket is aiming to soon offer 250,000 slots a week.

Online sales, which now account for 20% of Waitrose’s trade – were “taking increasingly more of our shop partners’ time to manage” a spokesman said."

I am a Waitrose online delivery customer and will continue to be so even with a delivery charge. For me it's the best local supermarket.

MysteryMe

It's human nature to talk about the unusual rather than the norm. No delivery driver is going to talk about deliveries to a 3 bed semi on a housing estate like my house, they are going to take about the big mansion they went to.
Those stats and projections are during exceptional times and whilst offering a low minimum spend and free delivery. You have not addressed my point that increasing capacity is only viable if the increased capacity is taken up with a commensurate increase in the number of online customers from this point onwards. It's only recently that capacity has increased significantly and If that capacity is not being filled with free delivery it's not going to be filled with chargeable delivery. My local Waitrose is likely to be representative of most, It's one of their largest stores but it's not surrounded by gated communities nor run down areas. A month or so ago I would never have been able to pick a slot day after next as I can now.
All supermarkets are very sensitive to losing customers to the competition. They have to be, it's a cut throat industry. If Waitrose are as complacent as some of the people on here claiming it's not going to make any difference then they may be in for an interesting ride.
 

NeilCr

MysteryMe said:

It's human nature to talk about the unusual rather than the norm. No delivery driver is going to talk about deliveries to a 3 bed semi on a housing estate like my house, they are going to take about the big mansion they went to.
Those stats and projections are during exceptional times and whilst offering a low minimum spend and free delivery. You have not addressed my point that increasing capacity is only viable if the increased capacity is taken up with a commensurate increase in the number of online customers from this point onwards. It's only recently that capacity has increased significantly and If that capacity is not being filled with free delivery it's not going to be filled with chargeable delivery. My local Waitrose is likely to be representative of most, It's one of their largest stores but it's not surrounded by gated communities nor run down areas. A month or so ago I would never have been able to pick a slot day after next as I can now.
All supermarkets are very sensitive to losing customers to the competition. They have to be, it's a cut throat industry. If Waitrose are as complacent as some of the people on here claiming it's not going to make any difference then they may be in for an interesting ride.
 

Possibly

But this is someone who is talking in general rather than specifics. Plus I know him pretty well and trust his view of things. And, of course, he is, actually, doing the job as opposed to the rest of us who are pontificating from behind a computer screen. You are going to be able to book a slot more easily because of the increase in capacity. It doesn't follow that means it is a bad decision. My partner's son is still pretty busy from what he says. 

I am not going to address your other point because I don't know (nor do you to be fair). I responded on this thread because I have some (limited) knowledge of the change in deliveries and how someone doing the job sees it. 

We'll have to see if Waitrose have made the right call somewhere down the line. 

Doc_N

Pretty straightforward for this family, and I suspect quite a few others. We have a Tesco delivery pass, paid for entirely with Clubcard points. Others have similar passes. Once you have one, all deliveries come without further charge.

Whilst Waitrose offers free deliveries we’ll use it occasionally for specific things that Tesco don’t do as well, but once the charge comes in, that’s it. Finished. Happy to increase to £60 again for free delivery, but it has to be free to attract business from anyone with a delivery pass.

The removal of newspapers from deliveries before 3pm to avoid having to provide them free is another annoyance, along with the noon cutoff.

And as for the John Lewis staff bonus, it’s gone. It’s still different from standard company owned businesses, but very much in name only these days.

GaleSF63

Generally speaking if you don't want to do something yourself, or can't, you can expect to have to pay for it.

Mickey666

GaleSF63 said:

Generally speaking if you don't want to do something yourself, or can't, you can expect to have to pay for it.

Quite so.  And while I can't speak for anyone else, I can speak for myself with 100% confidence that I'm perfectly willing to pay far more for my weekly food shopping than I currently do.  As far as I'm concerned I never want to see the inside of a supermarket ever again and am happy to pay the price for deliveries.  Same with the high st.

I know this is a money saving website but there are limits to what I will endure just to save a few pounds.

Bacman

NeilCr said:

Partners son is a Waitrose delivery person
He got taken on (with others) as they (well this branch anyway) were greatly increasing the delivery capacity. From what he says about the sort of places he delivers to I doubt many will quibble at a £5 delivery charge

Some of us live in a modest sized flat, not a large house! Some of us prefer online supermarkets to lug up the heavy items as we're getting old, lol