Dublin online grocery delivery company Buymie is to create 200 jobs in the UK over the next six months after teaming up with British rival Co-op to offer same-day home grocery deliveries to more than 200,000 households across Bristol.
Demand for the company’s services has increased as public health restrictions on movement have led shoppers to turn to online delivery services to protect themselves from catching Covid-19, the deadly disease caused by virus.
The move is the first partnership in the UK for Buymie. Its mobile app allows customers to book personalised online home grocery deliveries.
Buymie collects orders for customers shopping from Lidl and Tesco, including within an hour for a higher service delivery fee.
The company’s service is available to more than 490,000 households across Dublin and in parts of Kildare and Wicklow such as Maynooth, Celbridge, Leixlip, Bray and Greystones.
Convenient delivery
Users of Buymie’s app can select from about 4,000 Co-op products. Customers can select a convenient delivery slot in as little as one hour, or up to seven days in advance.
Customers are also able to note specific preferences on their orders, and can arrange a personalised call if items are unavailable.
The service sits alongside Co-op’s own same-day online delivery offer and dedicated online shop, which offers delivery or collection slots in as little as two hours with products picked by its store teams locally.
Co-op announced earlier this year that it expects its online offer to be available from 650 stores in communities across the UK by the end of 2020.
Devan Hughes of Buymie said the company was "absolutely thrilled" to be announcing the partnership with Co-op.
“We know that customers value convenient, speedy, and cost-effective home delivery services and Buymie provides all of this and more,” he said.
Product assortment
“We also offer a fully personalised shopping experience so customers never get ‘door shock’ with incorrect substitutions.
“A personal shopper will call them with any changes and customers will also have access to the full product assortment, with no limits on basket size.
“We have accelerated our UK expansion plans to support our retail partners in offering same-day delivery capacity, with Bristol being our first city to launch. We are investing heavily in Bristol as a community, and will be creating over 200 personal shopper jobs in our first six months.”
Jason Perry, Co-op head of online development, added: “Ease, speed and convenience is at the core of our approach.
“With customer experience and quality front of mind, our decision to partner with Buymie allows us to continue to expand access to our products online, and offer greater flexibility and choice to meet consumer needs in our communities.”
