In a significant expansion of its delivery service, Starship is now offering Co-op grocery deliveries by robots to an additional 12,000 households in the Kippax and Swarcliffe areas of Leeds. This comes after a successful pilot program in the Adel and Tinshill area that saw 20,000 residents benefit from the innovative service.
To make use of this service, residents can download the Starship food delivery app on iOS or Android and browse through a wide range of groceries available for delivery. The groceries are picked fresh from local Co-op stores and delivered to customers’ doorsteps locally.
With a delivery fee starting from just 99p, customers can expect their orders to arrive in under an hour. An interactive map allows them to track the robot’s journey in real-time. When the delivery robot arrives, customers receive an alert on their app and can unlock it conveniently using the same app.
Leeds City Council’s executive member for sustainable development and infrastructure, Councillor Helen Hayden, expressed satisfaction with the positive response to the robots in the Adel and Tinshill area. She also highlighted this expansion as a move towards a zero-carbon alternative for grocery deliveries within the city. The council aims to reduce short car journeys to local shops and become a carbon-neutral city by 2030.
A survey has been launched for the residents and businesses in Kippax and Swarcliffe to gather feedback on this six-month pilot program, similar to the one conducted in Adel and Tinshill. The council values the opinions of its constituents and aims to shape the future of sustainable grocery delivery in Leeds.
Co-op’s e-commerce director, Chris Conway, emphasized the convenience of the robot deliveries, describing Co-op stores as being at the heart of local communities. He expressed the company’s commitment to expanding access to their products and services and welcomed the opportunity to provide online flexibility and choice for consumers across Leeds.
Andrew Curtis, director of European operations at Starship Technologies, highlighted the positive feedback received since the robots were first introduced in Leeds. He expressed his enthusiasm for extending the benefits of the service to the additional 12,000 homes in Kippax and Swarcliffe. Curtis also noted the contribution of the delivery robots to reducing carbon footprints by eliminating short car journeys to pick up groceries.
Powered by renewable electricity, Starship’s robots are energy-efficient, with an average delivery consuming as little energy as boiling a kettle to make just one cup of tea. The expansion of the service in Leeds follows the successful launch with Co-op in Wakefield earlier this year. Starship’s robots have become a familiar and popular sight in several locations throughout the UK, including Trafford (Greater Manchester), Milton Keynes, Northampton, Bedford, and Cambridge.
