Co-op customers will soon be able to order their shopping from Amazon’s website.
The supermarket chain said the service would be trialled in Glasgow before being rolled out to other parts of the UK later this year.
It will allow Amazon Prime customers to do their full Co-op shop on Amazon.co.uk. Same-day delivery and two-hour scheduled time slots will be free on orders worth £40 or more, or cost £3.99 for orders under that amount, with a minimum shop of £15.
Co-op said the service allowing customers to order groceries from the Amazon website would be trialled in Glasgow before being rolled out to other parts of the UK later this year
However, Co-op, which also provides funerals and other services, reported a loss of £15m for the six months to July 3, compared with profits of £56m a year ago, as it was hit by supply chain problems and the pandemic.
Welcoming the deal with Amazon, Co-op boss Steve Murrells said: ‘We’re driving forward with exciting plans to provide rapid kerb-to-kitchen grocery delivery.’
However, union chiefs are enraged, claiming customers would be ‘shocked’ by Co-op’s partnership with the US tech giant.
Defending the tie-up, Murrells insisted Amazon ‘wants to be a force for social good’.
But Andy Prendergast, national officer of the GMB union, which represents Amazon workers, said: ‘It’s really disappointing to see a company with a proud ethical heritage like the Co-op teaming up with Amazon: a tax evading multinational with a horrifying health and safety record.’
An Amazon spokesman said it offered staff ‘excellent pay, benefits and opportunities for career growth, all while working in a safe, modern work environment’.
