Tesco Delivery Slot Prices

1. Book A Tesco Delivery Slot

The scramble to book a coveted Christmas delivery slot has seen Tesco customers stuck in virtual queues since before 7am this morning. The supermarket now has more than 1.5million slots a week. However from August, the supermarket will change its prices to a fixed fee of £4.50 on all of its delivery slots. Shoppers who usually opt for the cheapest slots, at just £2 each, will be. Currently, Tesco charges shoppers between £2 and £7 for home delivery, depending on the time of day you choose. However, from August, the supermarket will change its prices to a fixed fee of £4.

Tesco has announced it will be hiking prices for its Delivery Saver 12-month pass from £60 to £72 a year.

Loyal Tesco shoppers keen to save money on regular online deliveries will be hit the hardest. Tesco insisted that it warned customers of the price rise by email.

Luckily, there are ways to cut your delivery costs – especially if you are willing to switch supermarkets. Let's take a look at the six main players: Asda, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Morrisons and Waitrose.

Standard delivery charges

Asda has a minimum order of £40 and charges between £1 and £6 with the cheapest slots available Monday to Thursday afternoons and evenings. You can order online up to three weeks before your delivery.

The supermarket also offers a range of Grocery Delivery Passes, which entitle you to free delivery anytime for specified periods.

The longer passes can be paid for all in one go, or on a monthly basis. There's a limit of one delivery per day and you have to spend at least £40. The Anytime Delivery Pass is available for 12 months (£5 a month for 12 months) and six months (£36, though you can pay the in six £6 monthly instalments) and anytime (£8).

There's also a mid-week 12 month pass which you can use for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday deliveries which will set you back £24.

On the plus side, if your Delivery Pass doesn't save you more than you would have spent on standard delivery charges and Asda will give you an eVoucher for the difference.

Sainsbury's delivery costs vary between £1 and £7 if you spend at least £40, with Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening slots usually being the cheapest. There is still a minimum charge of £25 and any orders under £40 will be charged a maximum £7 delivery fee.

There's no delivery charge for shops of £100 or more delivered on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after 2pm.

You've got a choice between two delivery passes. The Midweek Delivery Pass covers deliveries on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and is available for three months (£10), six months (£18) and 12 months (£30).

The Anytime Delivery Pass covers deliveries any day of the week, and costs £20 for three months, £35 for six months and £60 for 12 months.

Sainsbury's has a Delivery Pass Guarantee which works in a similar way to Asda: if your delivery charge savings don't match the cost of your Delivery Pass, you'll get a voucher for the difference.

Ocadocharges vary from £2.99 to £6.99 on deliveries under £75, with the cheapest slots typically being in the evening (9pm onwards) or early morning (6am-7am). You have to spend a minimum of £40, though. There's no charge on deliveries over £75.

To trim the cost you can buy a Smart Pass, which reduces the cost of delivery down to £2.99 for a month's midweek deliveries, £14.99 for a six-month pass and £27.49 for a year's pass. If you would prefer anytime delivery it costs £6.99 a month, £49.99 for six months or £69.99 for a year.

At Tesco, the cheapest delivery slots can be found on Tuesday to Thursday for between £1 and £6. It also offers aDelivery Saver scheme, where you pay £8 for one month, £7 a month for six months and £72 for 12 months (up from £60 a month previously).

Midweek plans that get you free delivery Tuesday to Thursday at £4 for one month, £3.50 for six months and £36 for 12 months. Right now you can get a month's trial free. There's a limit of one delivery per day with a minimum order of £40.

Waitrose is the only supermarket to offer free delivery across all its time slots, but you have to spend at least £60 per shop (which isn't that difficult at Waitrose).

If you want to spend less, Waitrose offers grocery collections for a minimum £40 spend.

Or you could do your shopping in-store and have your groceries delivered so you don't have to lug them home. It's only available in certain postcodes though. You'll be charged £3 on delivery for shops over £50 and £5 for shops under £50.

Morrisons delivers for £1 at quiet times, £3 at standard times and £5 at busy times. What's more, if it doesn’t arrive on time you get it for free! Minimum order total is £40.

The supermarket recently launched a delivery pass of its own. You've got the choice of a midweek pass at £5 a month, £20 for six months and £30 for a year or an annual pass at £7 a month, £40 for six months and £60 for a year.

Tips to cover that delivery fee

However, as an online shopper myself I've found a few alternative ways to cover that delivery fee.

1. Sign up for emails with all of the supermarket websites, even if you don't intend to shop with them straight away. Like all retailers, supermarkets often send out discount codes (such as 15% off your shopping) to entice us to shop with them which will usually more than cover the delivery charge.

2. Join the loyalty schemes. If you shop with Sainsbury's or Tesco (and don't mind them knowing your shopping habits) sign up to Nectar or Clubcard – cardholders are often sent extra money off vouchers/delivery offers.

3. Switch around. Never use the same delivery service twice in a row. Supermarkets tend to ignore loyal customers and send their best deals to those who haven't used their service for a while – make them stew and watch the offers roll in!

4. Complain, complain, complain. If there is anything at all wrong with your shopping (late delivery, damaged fruit or vegetables, items too close to their sell-by date, dented tins) don't just accept it, phone up and tell them. Most customer service managers are keen that you enjoy the service and will often replace or simply refund your money, straight away. What's more, depending on the problem many will issue credit notes too, giving money off your next delivery (which will cover that delivery fee!).

5. Scour the web for voucher codes and cashback. The likes of vouchercodes.co.ukand MyVoucherCodes often have vouchers for free delivery and discounts on your groceries. And you can often earn cashback from the likes of Quidco and TopCashback by clicking through to the supermarkets via their sites.

© @Copyright HELLO! Hello! Magazine

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.'

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

What are Tesco's shopping times for vulnerable customers?

Book A Tesco Delivery Slot

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.'