Sainsbury’s launches the 30-minute click-and-collect shop

♦ Realising you have run out of groceries as dinnertime nears is no longer a problem as Sainsbury’s has launched a service to let customers click and collect food within half an hour.

Customers will be able to order their shopping via a smartphone app and pick it up from a store 30 minutes later. It will make Sainsbury’s the UK’S first supermarket to offer collection in less than an hour.

Tesco launched the first same-day grocery deliveries in July, ahead of a planned challenge from Amazon.

Sainsbury’s is trialling the service at its Pimlico store in London, using an app called Chop Chop, which will not charge customers extra for click and collect.

Customers are able to select and pay for up to 25 items for collection in 30 minutes, seven days a week. Orders are packed and ready to be picked up by shoppers showing their order number.

Clodagh Moriarty, Sainsbury’s online director, said: “The way customers are shopping is changing as they look for faster and more convenient options.

“We’re delighted to be the first to trial a 30-minute click-and-collect service.”