Tesco opens 'drive-through' supermarket in Harlow

Shopper short on time will now be able to steer clear of crowded aisles and checkout queues after Harlow’s first drive-through supermarket opened this week.

The Tesco store in Edinburgh Way is one of 12 across the country to pilot the new time-saving initiative following the success of trials in Baldock and Romford last year.

An expansion of the retail giant’s online service, it allows customers too busy to wait at for a home delivery to pick up their groceries at a convenient time without having to leave their vehicles.

"We believe this will be especially popular with busy mums who have the school run and children’s activities to manage," said Tesco’s internet marketing director Ian Crook.

"It offers a solution to parents who want to avoid the challenge of shopping in a busy store with children in tow but can’t afford the time to stay in for the shopping to arrive to their door.

"We also expect it to help young professionals who want the convenience of a pre-picked and packed shop but can’t commit to waiting at home for delivery.

"They can collect their shopping on the way home from work or at any other time that suits them during our extensive collection hours."

After ordering shopping on the Tesco.com website, customers can then choose the ‘Click & Collect’ option and book a two-hour time slot to pick up their purchase.

On arriving at the store, they will be asked to pull into one of the allo¬cated collection points where staff will check the customer’s reference details before packing the ordered groceries into their car boot.

"We’re very excited about offering this new drive-through service to our customers here in Harlow," said store manager Adrian Jones. "I speak to customers every day about their shopping experience and this new service will offer them even more choice in how they buy their shopping."

The charge for picking and packing the groceries starts from £2.

Source : Vicky Lane – Harlow Star
www.harlowstar.co.uk/News/Tesco-opens-drive-through-supermarket-in-Harlow-19082011.htm