Co-op has announced that it will launch a 24-hour grocery delivery service to cater for increased demand from shift workers, parents and late-night revellers.

The new service will launch in September this year via Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats in Manchester, Leeds and London.

This means that Swindon customers will have to wait to see if it also comes to their local stores. 

These are locations where the grocer said there was already a strong online demand at non-traditional times because of the local demographic, a concentration of delivery driver availability and where stores are already staffed around the clock for replenishment purposes.

A survey suggested that around 40% of shoppers who use fast delivery services would use an 11pm to 5am option if it was available.

That figure rose to half of consumers aged 18 to 44 with the service expected to be most popular among those aged 18 to 24.

The study suggested that an estimated six million UK adults believed the main reason they would use a 24-hour service was because of their work pattern or shift.

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Co-op e-commerce director, Chris Conway, said: “With a convenience store based in every postal code area in the UK, we’re able identify and meet the demands of shoppers at local level which enables us provide solutions like our new 24-hour delivery service.

“We’re always looking at ways to evolve our online offer to provide the very best service for shoppers, whenever and at whatever time they choose to shop with us.”

Opinion Matters surveyed 2,000 UK adults between August 14 and August 16.