Scotmid Co-op and a major Morrisons Daily operator are understood to be undergoing Snappy Shopper online delivery trials.

Chief executive of the online delivery platform, Mark Steven, told Better Retailing the trials follow a wider rollout of its service at the beginning of this year, with more than 30 symbol and unaffiliated retailers currently signed up.

Explaining how it differs from other delivery partners such as Uber Eats and Deliveroo, he said: “It’s about giving independent retailers control. Others were built for takeaways, where margins can be 85%, so they can afford high commissions, but this causes price inflation in grocery where margins are lower.

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“We are designed for convenience stores and goods are sold at normal shop prices because our our model is completely different and not commission driven.”

He claimed this promotes, rather than harms, a store’s price reputation and removes the need to also stock non-price- marked versions.

Partnered stores are responsible for making deliveries with a targeted arrival of within 60 minutes. Steven said this is because stores are liable for age verification at the doorstep, even when delivered by third parties.

Describing the system, Steven said: “It’s driving store loyalty – customers are making regular orders, some returning 25 times per month. Average baskets are £21, and some retailers are hitting more than £7,500 in weekly sales.”

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