The Co-op is rolling out a 24-hour online grocery delivery service for customers in city centre stores in a bid to respond to the rising demand for rapid delivery.

The scheme is launching this month in London, Leeds and Manchester shops where there is strong online grocery demand at non-traditional times.

The sites selected have been based on the local demographic, a concentration of delivery driver availability and where shops are already staffed around the clock for replenishment purposes.

Groceries will be sent to shoppers via the grocery giant’s ecommerce partners Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats.

Alongside the 24-hour service, the supermarket has also extended its online availability in over 1,600 stores within the shop’s existing opening hours, enabling more customers to shop later in the evening.

The move seeks to support Co-op’s growth ambitions of hitting more than one-third share of the quick commerce market.

The changes arrive as new research from the convenience retailer found more than 40% of q-comm customers would be willing to use an 11pm to 5am delivery service if available.

The figure also rose to nearly one in two customers aged between 18 to 44, with the service most popular for 52.3% of Gen Z shoppers between 18 to 24.

Co-op ecommerce director Chris Conway said: “Meeting the needs of our member-owners and customers is at the heart of our approach and is aligned to our strategy to grow our share of the quick commerce market through both our own online shop and, strategic partners.

“We focus on ease, speed and convenience from our local stores, which are well placed in the heart of communities. Societal behaviours including changing lifestyles and shift working is increasing the requirement for online groceries to be delivered quickly and conveniently at non-traditional times of the day.”

Co-op now predicts that more than 80% of the UK population has access to its products, either via its own online store or through its delivery partners.

The move comes as Tesco has expanded its delivery portfolio, launching a new online grocery initiative earlier this month.

The venture, called Transcend Retail Solutions, is led by the supermarket giant’s strategy director Oliver Vogt and offers both software and hardware to enable global grocers to fulfil online orders directly from their stores.

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