Waitrose is to grow its position in on-demand grocery shopping and the convenience sector after announcing a new multi-year partnership with Uber Eats. The partnership has now launched on the Uber Eats platform in five initial London stores. It will then roll out to more than 200 stores, including shops in Wales and Scotland.

Uber Eats has seen gross bookings from supermarkets on its platform increase by almost 60% in the first quarter of the year compared to last year, whilst Waitrose has seen young customers help grow on-demand grocery orders by 40% compared with the previous year.

James Bailey, Executive Director for Waitrose, said “On-demand grocery shopping continues to grow in popularity with our customers and partnering with Uber Eats means we have even more flexibility to be there for them whenever they need us.”

Alex Troughton, Head of Commerce at Uber Eats UK added “We are delighted that Waitrose is joining the Uber Eats platform across the UK. Our partnership is the ultimate in modern day food shopping, combining the benefits of technology, convenience and speed with premium quality and huge product choice.”

The partnership builds on Waitrose’s current partnership with Deliveroo. UberEats partners with a number of supermarkets including Sainsbury’s, Asda, Co-op,Iceland and Morrisons Daily. The announcement also expands Waitrose’s presence in the convenience sector through relationships with third parties as they continue to reach more customers and make their products even more accessible.