Following a successful pilot launched last November, with 20,000 residents within the Adel and Tinshill area of Leeds have access to Starship’s delivery service. Now a further 12,000 households in communities in the Kippax and Swarcliffe areas of Leeds can now access Co-op groceries delivered by robots quickly, easily and conveniently.
Orders are placed via the Starship food delivery app, which is available for download via iOS and Android, with residents in Kippax and Swarcliffe able to choose from a wide range of groceries which are picked fresh from two local Co-op stores, and delivered in the local community.
With a delivery fee starting from only 99p, customers can order their delivery to arrive in under an hour and watch the robot travel in real-time via a special interactive map. They'll receive an alert when the robot arrives, and can meet and unlock it via the app.
Chris Conway, Co-op's eCommerce Director, said: “Co-op stores are well placed in the heart of local communities to provide quick, easy, convenient grocery home deliveries for time-pressed shoppers, whether that is a full shop or, for last-minute top-ups and forgotten items.
"We're committed to exploring new and innovative ways to increase access to our products and services, and delighted to be able to roll-out robot deliveries to provide further online flexibility and choice for consumers across Leeds.”
Councillor Helen Hayden, Leeds City Council’s executive member for sustainable development and infrastructure, said: “Residents and families of Adel and Tinshill have welcomed Starship robots delivering their groceries, with over three-quarters of survey respondents in support of the introduction of the robots in the area.
"The expansion to Kippax and Swarcliffe will mean more people in Leeds can benefit from a zero-carbon alternative to grocery deliveries. As a council we’re pleased initiatives like this can help towards reducing the emissions of the last-mile delivery journey. It helps us to meet our pledge of becoming a carbon neutral city by 2030 by aiming to reduce short journeys to the shops made by car."
Andrew Curtis, who is the Director of European Operations at Starship Technologies, said: “The feedback we have received since first launching in Leeds last year was overwhelmingly positive and we are very pleased to be able to extend the benefits the robots have provided to an extra 12,000 homes from now on. More and more people are conscious of trying to reduce their carbon footprint and our robots helps them with this by eliminating the need for short car journeys to pick up their groceries.”
Starship’s robots are powered by 100% renewable electricity, with an average delivery for a robot consuming as little energy as boiling a kettle to make just one cup of tea. Time-pressed shoppers use the service for its speed, ease and convenience to fit around their busy lives, including the 24% of Starship’s existing customers in Leeds who either have, or live with someone, who has an accessibility need.
This expansion in Leeds continues robot delivery growth across Yorkshire following the launch of the service with Co-op in areas of Leeds and, in Wakefield earlier in the year. The robots are also familiar and popular sight in other places across the UK, including Trafford (which is in Greater Manchester), Milton Keynes, Northampton, Bedford and Cambridge.
Since launching commercial deliveries in 2018, Starship’s 2,000+ fleet of robots have safely completed more than five million deliveries around the world, with consumers using the service to save time and fit shopping around their busy lives. Globally, the robots undertake 140,000 road crossings every single day.
I wonder when our local Co-op will get robotic delivery options?