The UK’s largest retailer, Tesco, has increased its home delivery and click & collect capacity to circa 780,000 a week, supported by more manpower and the operational changes it has made in response to the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis.

Tesco has elderly and vulnerable priority time in store, and is offering special delivery slots for these groups when they shop online. Waitrose’s move came as Tesco limited online shoppers to 80 items per order as part of its plan to increase the number of delivery slots available to vulnerable households. Sainsbury's says it is doing its best to offer online delivery slots to elderly and vulnerable customers - and these customers have priority over all slots. Tesco has reported full capacity.

This figure stood at 660,000 two weeks ago, and Tesco CEO Dave Lewis said the grocer has plans to increase online order capacity by another 100,000 in the coming weeks.

Lewis also revealed stores with an online grocery operation will now open their doors a little later – from 8am – to help Tesco pick more orders.

“The government has asked our industry to help people that they have identified as particularly vulnerable and who don’t have their own support network,” Lewis explained.

“We will prioritise orders for these people and we will be in touch with them by email, as we receive the list from the government.”

Tesco’s policy around prioritising online delivery for the vulnerable and elderly, matches that of Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer, and other supermarket chains – which are rising to the challenge of serving the nation in unique circumstances.

There have, of course, been several challenges – with the hike in demand causing logjams and long lead times online for many customers. In normal times, online represents around 10% of UK grocery sales, but the pandemic has created unprecedented pressure on its infrastructure.

“We want to help as many people as possible who truly need our delivery service, and so we have deliberately not restricted new online customers,” Lewis added.

“We hope our existing online customers understand our approach, in these challenging circumstances. But to make it work, we also need your support: please ‘think before you click’ and shop in store, if you can do so safely.”

Lewis also revealed that in the last ten days, more than 35,000 new members of staff had joined Tesco, including pickers and drivers to support online. He called the response to new roles “incredible”, with one million people visiting the retailer’s careers website.

Industry intelligence group, Kantar, said yesterday (31 March) that UK grocery sales reached £10.8 billion in the 12 weeks to 22 March, which was higher than even Christmas spending levels.

Kantar said grocery spend online was 13% up on the same period in 2019, and the average online basket size surged to £81.88 in March – over £6 more than the same month one year before.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail & consumer insight at the Kantar Worldpanel UK, said year-on-year sales for the 12 weeks were up by 7.6% – but they were up by 20.6% in the most recent four-week period, making March the biggest month of grocery sales ever recorded.

Commenting on grocery eCommerce, he added: “Government advice may have been to get groceries delivered if possible, but limited delivery slots meant that only 14.6% of households received an online delivery in the past four weeks, up from 13.8% in March 2019 but probably well below actual demand.”

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As most of us have discovered, bagging a supermarket delivery right now is on a par with winning the lottery – the booking slots are snapped up straight away, meaning many vulnerable customers are struggling to find a solution to getting their food shopping. The government has provided stores with a list of clinically vulnerable people who qualify for priority booking, however, some are still unsure of how to book their delivery slots. We contacted Tesco to find out exactly how these customers can book online shops…

A spokesperson for Tesco told HELLO!: 'We have been working hard to increase the capacity of our online delivery service to help more customers gain access to this service when they need it.'

Tesco are prioritising their vulnerable customers

How many vulnerable people have Tesco contacted?

Tesco's CEO Dave Lewis said: 'On Thursday, we were given an initial list of 110,000 clinically and socially isolated people by the Government. From these, we were able to match 75,000 existing customers and we’ve already contacted them to let them know we’re making home delivery slots immediately available to them. As we receive more data from Government, we’ll make even more slots available.'

How do I book a Tesco delivery slot for a vulnerable person?

To book a slot for a vulnerable person, you need to go to tesco.com/groceries and log in. Vulnerable customers can book a priority slot with an eight-hour window for delivery.

MORE: Waitrose launches e-gift card for self-isolating customers during coronavirus

What if I don't have a Tesco account but am a vulnerable person?

If you don't currently have an account with Tesco but have received a letter from the NHS because you're classified as clinically vulnerable, you can create an account on their website or call Tesco on 0800 917 7359. The store can then check if you are on the government's list.

Is Tesco adding more online delivery slots?

Tesco CEO Dave Lewis said: 'We have increased our online delivery slots by 145,000 in the last two weeks with hundreds of thousands more due to become available shortly; but we know it’s still difficult to get an online delivery slot at the moment due to high demand, and we ask those who are able to safely come to stores to do so, instead of shopping online, so we can start to free up more slots for the more vulnerable.'

Tesco Book A Slot

Is Tesco recruiting more delivery drivers?

The supermarket is in the process of adding almost 200 new delivery vans and has recruited 2,500 new drivers and more than 5,000 pickers.

MORE:How to secure a Sainsbury's home delivery slot for a vulnerable person

Tesco Delivery Slots For Elderly Patients

What are Tesco's shopping times for vulnerable customers?

Asda Delivery Online

The Tesco website states: 'We want to help everyone through these uncertain times, especially those who need extra help. So all our stores (except Express stores) will be prioritising the elderly and most vulnerable for one hour between 9am and 10am every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.'