// Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts revealed that its on-demand business brings in the same sales as that of two of its supermarkets
// Grocers and third party providers such as Getir and Gorillas have been piling into on-demand grocery following the onset of the pandemic
Given the amount of activity in on-demand grocery, one could be fooled into thinking the burgeoning area was a significant part of food retail.
However, Sainsbury’s boss Simon Roberts has revealed that on-demand brings the grocer the same sales as just two of its supermarkets.
Roberts said: “It’s built through the course of the year but it in total terms the size of our on-demand business is a bit more than the equivalent of two of our supermarkets.”
Despite it’s small scale, Roberts believes that Sainsbury’s on-demand business is the biggest in the UK. The grocer sells on demand via Deliveroo, Uber Eats and its own Chop Chop service, which delivers up to 25 items in 60 minutes.
READ MORE: Sainsbury’s warns of lower profit in year ahead amid cost-of-living crisis
Since the onset of Covid, grocers have rushed to offer on-demand services with Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, and Co-op working with Deliveroo, while Sainsbury’s, Asda and Iceland sell via Uber Eats.
Tesco, Ocado and Iceland run their own speedy delivery services, like Sainsbury’s Chop Chop. Meanwhile, a raft of third parties including Getir, Gorillas, GoPuff and Zapp are vying to win on-demand spend.
Roberts said Sainsbury’s was waiting to see if growth stabilises in on-demand as behaviour starts to normalise as the public adapt to living with Covid.
Roberts insisted he was pleased with how Sainsbury’s own Chop Chop 60-minute delivery service was performing. “It’s a good way of using our convenience stores to fulfil those missions,” he said.
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