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John Lewis customers can now return their purchases to Waitrose delivery drivers at the same time as they receive their groceries.
The service means that the department store group’s shoppers can return clothing and home purchases without leaving the comfort of their own home.
Waitrose.com shoppers can simply hand back parcels they received from Johnlewis.com or Click & Collect for the driver to process immediately after their online grocery deliveries have been made.
Waitrose.com delivery is free for all orders over £60 and there is no additional charge for using the return service, which is available in all postcodes served by Waitrose.com.
The introduction of the service follows a trial last year in 21 shops and customers of the supermarket chain’s customer fulfilment centre at Coulsdon in Surrey.
Ged Keogh-Peters, director of supply chain strategy for the John Lewis Partnership (JLP), said: “Following the success of the trial, we’re pleased to be extending this service to even more customers. We are excited to be at the forefront of new services to make online shopping as convenient and quick as possible.”
The move forms part of JLP’s strategy to leverage its supply chain and offer additional convenience to customers of both brands. The company (which operates John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners) said the majority of John Lewis customers want at least three different ways to return their unwanted goods. John Lewis customers can return online orders in John Lewis and Waitrose shops, through Collect+, Royal Mail and MyHermes.
Waitrose & Partners announced plans in May to treble the size of its successful online grocery operation to a £1 billion business over the next three years and recently unveiled plans for another fulfilment centre, which is expected to open at Enfield in north London in spring 2020.
The supermarket also confirmed last week that it is extending its Waitrose Rapid Delivery trial outside London for the first time following its success in the capital. The service, which enables customers to have up to 25 grocery items delivered to their home or office, within two hours or less or on the same day, will be available in both Bath and Hove from July 8 and July 15 respectively. The retailer is also adding 58 London postcodes.
In addition, John Lewis & Partners is running a trial of its Next Day Click & Collect service with Co-op in areas where JLP has a lower shop presence. This follows the success of a partnership with Booths, which launched last year and is now available in eight Booths shops.
