Waitrose is expanding its bookable shopping slots service to over 100 stores, following a successful trial over the summer.
The supermarket said it has been continuing to manage the number of customers in its stores to help shoppers maintain a safe distance from each other.
Waitrose says, like most other retailers, it has experienced queues at peak times. The booking service allows customers to book a shopping slot at select Waitrose shops this Christmas, so they can avoid potential queues.
The service is free and optional. Customers can visit Waitrose.com to book a slot at 111 stores across the country, up to seven days in advance. The new service will be in place until early January.
Waitrose has also extended its opening hours in the days leading up to and including 23 December, with most shops open until 11pm and some convenience shops open until 12am.
Through its ‘How to Shop’ campaign which features Partners from its Waitrose Banbury store, Waitrose is also encouraging customers to be kind and considerate by shopping alone wherever possible and encouraging customers to shop during quieter times of the day.
Steven Hand, head of customer experience at Waitrose, says: “We’re all looking forward to Christmas this year and whilst things will feel a little different to usual, we’re doing all we can to make our customers’ grocery shop as safe, easy and convenient as possible. Our pre-bookable slots are just another way we’re doing this and will give peace of mind to those who like to plan ahead and avoid queues.”
Waitrose has other measures in place to ensure customers can shop safely in store, including:
- Queue Marshals to help guide customers in and out of stores and answer any queries
- Limits to customer numbers in stores at any one time to help with social distancing.
- Floor markers to help customers observe social distancing
- Protective screens at checkout
- Hand sanitiser stations at the entrances of shops
- Lift instructions advising only one customer or family to enter at any one time
- Signage to guide more people where possible to make use of contactless payment and Quick Check self-service scanning facilities.
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