Sainsbury's offers cargo bike deliveries for first time in 116 years

Sainsbury’s is using bikes to carry out deliveries for the first time in 116 years.

Customers will be able to order up to 20 items via the supermarket’s app Chop Chop, for delivery by cargo bike within the hour. The service costs £4.99 per delivery, but for now is will only be available in parts of south and west London, and only to iPhone users.

Sainsbury’s has recruited a team of 40 shoppers and cyclists to run the service. It says the app will be useful for buying forgotten items, or for when guests are invited over at the last minute. The service will deliver orders to over 35,000 postcodes from its Pimlico and Wandsworth stores, after a successful trial.

The service has been compared with Deliveroo or Just Eat, but one key difference is that the riders will be employees of Sainsbury's, rather than ‘freelance’ workers paid per delivery.

Sainsbury’s first delivered groceries using cargo bikes and tricycles around 1900. The new service will make Sainsbury’s the only supermarket to offer delivery within 60 minutes. If the app-based service proves popular it will be rolled out across London. The supermarket says it also plans to roll out an Android version of the app.