Major British retail chain Argos has launched a nationwide same-day home delivery service with four timeslots using its own staff and vehicles to fight back against Amazon and other e-commerce firms.
The company claimed it is “revolutionising” online shopping by becoming the first retailer to offer same-day store collection and same-day home delivery for nearly 20,000 products across the UK. Argos offers a total of some 50,000 products online and at its 800 stores.
The new ‘Fast Track’ service enables customers to purchase online from the product range and choose to either collect their goods from a local store or to schedule a same-day or next-day delivery slot.
A Fast Track Collection, which is free of charge, can be made from all 800 stores at specially marked Fast Track Collection counters. Customers will receive their goods “within 60 seconds”, according to the company.
A Fast Track Delivery will cost £3.95 and customers can select from four home delivery slots: 7am-10am, 10am-1pm, 2pm-6pm and 7pm-10pm, seven days a week including Sunday. Customers can order by 6pm to have an item delivered by 10pm the same day, or schedule a convenient time on the next day or future days.
Fast Track Delivery drivers are Argos employees, specially hired and trained and working in local stores around the country. Argos said it is currently recruiting up to 1,000 drivers for the forthcoming peak season and plans to take on a total of 3,300 drivers to operate a fleet of 800 Argos-branded delivery vans.
Fast Track has been tested for several months and customer reaction to the new home delivery service in particular was very positive, according to the company. The new collection and delivery services have been made possible by logistics changes over the last two years, including the ‘hub & spoke’ stocking model deployed in stores last year.
In comparison, Amazon UK’s Prime Now same-day delivery service costs £6.99 per delivery and is currently only available in London and Birmingham, although the e-commerce giant says it will be rolled out to other cities later this year.
John Walden, CEO of Home Retail Group (the Argos parent company) said: “As customers increasingly shop from online and mobile shopping channels, they are increasingly sensitive to the speed and cost of obtaining their products. Argos has always been known for convenience, and is uniquely positioned with its national network of stores and distribution centres to provide customers with the best options to fulfil their digital orders. We are pleased to introduce Fast Track Collection and Fast Track Delivery, which represents the fastest, cheapest and most convenient way for customers to purchase their goods online.”
Argos, with sales of £4.1 billion in the year ending February 2015, said it was the first UK retailer to launch click & collect 15 years ago and prior to that led the way with a UK-wide home delivery service in 1999.
