June 1, 2020

Which supermarkets have food delivery slots available this week?

By Tech Online Things
Tesco online

It’s been over two months since lockdown began, and despite a troubling start, it’s become easier to find a free food delivery slot in recent weeks. Things aren’t completely back to normal by any means, but we have noticed an uptick in general availability across all the big supermarkets in the UK, with Tesco and Sainsbury’s in particular often showing free delivery slots. Click & collect slots are much more widely available too, but if you’re desperate for a delivery slot, our best advice is to keep checking back regularly.

So which supermarkets have delivery slots available? And what other services can you use? Read on for our extensive round-up of which food delivery services are delivering right now – plus our best tips for how to get a food delivery slot if you need one.

Food delivery: quick links

Grocery delivery

Recipe box and meal delivery

Pizza delivery

Takeaway delivery

Alcohol delivery

How to get a food delivery slot

Supermarkets are taking the necessary precautions to keep shoppers safe by installing protective screens at checkouts, and limiting the amount of people in stores. Social distancing guidelines remain in place, which should give you a bit more peace of mind if you do visit stores in person.

Although demand for food delivery slots is now slowly beginning to wane, most supermarkets are urging customers to shop in-store whenever possible so that delivery slots can be prioritised for elderly and vulnerable customers.

If you’re a vulnerable person – or you know someone who is – you can register for support on the government’s website. All the major supermarkets are prioritising orders for people on the government’s vulnerable list, and will be in touch with anyone who is by email.

If you’d prefer to order your groceries online, our best advice is to keep checking the website of your local supermarket throughout the day. If you can sign up for an account, do so: this will make it easier for you to find a delivery slot in future. Book your delivery slot first to avoid disappointment, and once you have one, most supermarkets give you around an hour to place your order.

Finally, if you can’t get hold of a grocery delivery slot, don’t forget there are some fantastic meal delivery services still operating too. Recipe box services like Mindful Chef deliver fresh ingredients to your door for you to cook, while meal delivery companies such as Allplants will drop off meals that have been cooked by their chefs.

We’ve seen a stark improvement in availability in recent months, however, things vary day-to-day and differ depending on your area. That being said, it’s easier than ever to find a home delivery or click & collect slot, and the stock issues that plagued the early stages of lockdown are all but gone. Some ordering restrictions are still in place, but the majority of key items such as toilet roll, pasta and cleaning products are now easy to find, which is a huge relief.

Grocery delivery: our process

We signed up to all the major supermarkets below and created a shopping basket full of popular goods. Every day, we compare five different locations – London, Leeds, Portsmouth, Manchester and Bath – to provide a sense of what stock is available in each area and whether delivery slots are currently offered. Here’s the latest on which supermarkets are offering online grocery delivery today…

Tesco

Next delivery slot: June 15 to June 21 (last updated 01/06/20)

Update (01/06/20): Tesco is showing good availability for home delivery slots from June 15 to June 21 for all locations. Click & collect slots are also available if you can pick up your shopping in person.

According to Tesco, new food delivery slots are offered up as and when they’re available each day.

How to sign up for an account

Enter a valid email address and password, and confirm whether you have a Clubcard or not. You’ll receive one automatically upon registering if you don’t. Fill in your personal details, including your phone number and UK Postcode. You can then select if you’d like to receive offers and vouchers from Tesco or not.

Benefits and perks

Online shoppers can collect Clubcard points and Tesco has begun price matching Aldi on both its own-brand and branded products. A Delivery Saver pass is also available for regular customers, and comes with the added benefit of priority delivery slots during the busy Christmas and Easter periods.

Coronavirus measures and policies

Customers who shop online are encouraged to shop in-store where possible to help free up delivery slots for the elderly customers and those who are self-isolating.

Due to increased demand, Tesco isn’t accepting any new Delivery Saver customers right now either. A restriction of only three items per customer on every product line is in place, and multi-buy promotions have also been removed.

An 80 items limit is now in place for all online orders.

Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury's food delivey

Next delivery slot: June 2 to June 4 (last updated 01/06/20)

Update (01/06/20): Sainsbury’s is only showing a couple of free delivery slots this week, but it’s likely more will appear during the week. If you need a shop this week, there are a good amount of click & collect slots available, but this may vary depending on your location.

How to sign up for an account

Due to the huge increase in online orders, new registrations have been paused for the time being. To sign up for a Sainsbury’s online account, enter your email address and fill in your details on the following page. Once you’ve finished, you can start shopping.

Benefits and perks

You can collect and spend Nectar Points with each online food shop. A Delivery Pass is also available, which can help you save up to £156 per year.

Coronavirus measures and policies

Elderly customers and those deemed as vulnerable will be offered priority delivery slots.

Asda

Asda

Next delivery slot: June 5 (last updated 01/06/20)

Update (01/06/20): Apart from a couple of free delivery slots on June 5, Asda is still proving tricky when it comes to booking home delivery. There is a good amount of click & collect slots, though.

How to sign up for an account

Registering is quick and easy with Asda (it says as much on its website), simply enter your email, a password and then enter your delivery postcode and you’re good to go. You can choose whether to receive exclusive offers and the latest info from Asda too if you’d like.

Benefits and perks

Competitively priced and with a Delivery Pass available, Asda online shoppers can save up to £80 and £100 by choosing a 6-month or 12-month pass. Offers are clearly highlighted on the Asda website, so you’re never likely to miss a cracking deal.

Coronavirus measures and policies

Customers are limited to a three item maximum on all food, toiletries and cleaning products when ordering online.

When placing an online delivery order, anyone who is self-isolating is advised to fill in the ‘Other information’ section to advise where their order should be left, i.e. on the doorstep.

If you’re self-isolating, Asda has introduced a Volunteer Shopping Card. You can top it up with the amount of money you’d like to spend, and send it to your volunteer of choice who can then do your shop for you.

Ocado

Ocado

Next delivery slot: customers will be emailed directly (last updated 01/06/20)

Update (01/06/20): Ocado is now only contacting customers if it is able to offer a delivery slot. The message on the retailer’s website warns that customers may only get one email every couple of months to begin with, but the retailer hopes this situation will change soon. If you’d like to receive Ocado delivery updates, sign up here.

How to sign up for an account

You can sign up to Ocado using a Facebook and PayPal account, or simply fill in your details such as your email address and postcode to register.Tick the box if you’d like to opt out of Ocado’s offers, vouchers and gifts before you hit ‘Register’.

Benefits and perks

New customers can enjoy three months free delivery with Smart Pass, and Ocado also offers one-hour delivery windows.

Coronavirus measures and policies

Ocado had to temporarily suspend its service due to high demand, but is now its back online. Customers can only book one delivery slot every seven days to free up more slots for other customers.

Some products are limited to one or two per order, and a small number of bulky items have been removed from sale to make more room in each delivery van. The company has shared how stockpiling has affected its service during the coronavirus outbreak.

Anytime Smart Pass members who joined before 2020 will be placed in a temporary priority queue so they can book a delivery slot each week. Ocado will send an email and text message between the hours of 09:00 and 17:00 to give members access to the queue.

Morrisons

Morrisons food delivery

Next delivery slot: June 2 – food boxes widely available (last updated 01/06/20)

Update (01/06/20): We’ve spotted a few Morrisons home delivery slots for June 2 this week in our research areas. Alternatively, Morrisons food boxes range continues to grow, and includes a range of essential items as well more tailored offerings for specific events or dietary requirements.

How to sign up for an account

To sign up for a Morrisons online account, firstly enter your postcode to check if Morrisons deliver in your area. Once you’re given the all clear, enter your details and a password to register. You can also receive tailored offers, coupons and communications from Morrisons.

Benefits and perks

You can use a Facebook account to sign in, and Morrisons Quick Shop fills your trolley with the top things you might be wanting to buy with a single click. A Delivery Pass is also available with regular choices for those looking to do their weekly shop online.

Coronavirus measures and policies

Orders must be finalised 48 hours before delivery. Morrisons are working on introducing a number of measures to help reduce the amount of substitutes and missing items that some customers are encountering with their online food shops:

Morrisons’ £35 food box delivery

Morrisons food boxes

Morrisons has launched a food box delivery service that’s aimed at customers who can’t get to the shops for essential items. “A Morrisons Food Box could be a real help if you can’t currently get to a store to stock up on essentials,” says the site. “We will deliver a box of selected food and household items straight to your door.

Morrisons’ food box delivery service currently has good availability for delivery slots and its range is growing all the time.

Waitrose

Waitrose

Next delivery slot: only click & collect available (last updated 01/06/20)

Update (01/06/20): We weren’t able to find any Waitrose home delivery slots in our research areas, but there is a good amount of click & collect slots available.

How to sign up for an account

Signing up to Waitrose is simple – just fill in your details, such as your address and contact number, then click ‘next’ and you can start shopping straight away.

Benefits and perks

Waitrose has a number of attractive introductory offers, including a £30 saving on your first three online grocery shops. The website also includes hundreds of recipes and lists the ingredients so you can quickly add them to your basket.

Coronavirus measures and policies

The company has paused its online voucher codes along with any offer incentives until further notice. Some products have are restricted for a limited time, with customers only allowed to buy a maximum of two packets of toilet roll and three of any specific grocery item.

Entertainment products are also no longer available to order online for the foreseeable future. Substitutions for online orders cannot be returned to your driver if they have been handled, and drivers will not enter homes.

All online deliveries will be bagged as well to make them easier to collect quickly.