Waitrose to expand Deliveroo grocery contract to more stores       

British supermarket has  agreed a two-year deal with the app and delivery service following a successful trial

Up to 400 new jobs will be created in Waitrose stores to fulfil orders for delivery by Deliveroo.

British supermarket Waitrose will expand its Deliveroo service by 110 shops to 150 by the end of the summer, giving more customers access to rapid home delivery, it said. 

Waitrose, which is part of the employee-owned John Lewis Partnership, said it had agreed a two-year deal with the app and delivery service following a successful trial. 

Waitrose's long partnership with online grocery specialist Ocado came to an end last September.

Deliveroo customers will be able to order from an increased range of between 750 to 1,000 products and have shopping delivered in as little as 20 minutes from Waitrose stores across the UK. 

Up to 400 new jobs will be created in Waitrose stores to fulfil orders for delivery by Deliveroo.

Earlier this month Deliveroo said a more-than doubling in first quarter orders during coronavirus lockdowns was an initial step in proving itself following the debacle of its March flotation. 

Meanwhile, British grocery sales rose 6.5% in the four weeks to April 18, with the rollout of Covid-19 vaccinations and partial relaxation of social restrictions encouraging older shoppers to return to physical stores, industry data showed. 

Market researcher Kantar said the four-week period was the busiest in-store for grocers in more than a year. 

"With much of the over-65 community now vaccinated, older shoppers accounted for nearly half of the increased footfall," it said.