At select London postcodes, Waitrose has announced it is trialling a two-hour delivery service for food and drink.

The John Lewis owned grocery chain is using the last mile delivery specialist On the Dot for the “Waitrose Rapid Delivery” service.

Under the scheme customers will be able to choose up to 20 items from more than 1500 products at rapid.waitrose.com.

Before the order is complete they will be given the option of receiving the goods within two hours of placing the order, or on the other hand to specify a one hour time slot on the same day. The service will cost £5 and there is a minimum spend of £10 for both services.

The postcodes covered are: SW5, SW6, SW10, WC1, WC2, EC1, CR5 and CR8.

Richard Ambler, head of business development at Waitrose & Partners, said: “Customers are increasingly wanting to buy whatever they want when they want it. For many, we have moved away from the weekly supermarket visit to give us more fluidity with our busy lives and give us better control against over-buying and waste. Our trips to the supermarket are therefore much more frequent – Waitrose Rapid Delivery ensures we give our customers even greater flexibility and convenience to get their shopping as and when they want it.”

Using On the dot cargo bikes as well as vans to make deliveries is predicted to save up to four tonnes of GHG emissions a year. “The grocery sector is undergoing its biggest shift for decades – one where convenience and immediacy will win,” said Santosh Sahu, chief executive at On the dot.