Ocado sorry after orders cancelled on day one of M&S tie-up
The grocery delivery business said it had been facing a "surge in demand" as Marks & Spencer food made its online debut.
Tuesday 1 September 2020 13:10, UK
Ocado has apologised after a "surge in demand" meant that a "small number" of customer orders were cancelled on the first day of its tie-up with M&S.
Shoppers expressed their annoyance on social media after the joint venture between the online delivery specialist and the retailer was unable to fulfil their orders.
M&S is offering its full food range online for the first time in the tie-up - and delivery vans have been branded with its popular Percy Pigs sweets to mark the occasion.
But one Twitter user wrote: "I've been counting down the days to my M&S food.
"Now I have to investigate the bottom of the freezer to find something for tea because @Ocado cancelled my order too!"
Another said: "Thanks a bunch, you have left an 82 year old friend without her order."
An Ocado spokesperson said: "The M&S launch has been incredibly popular.
"We have seen a surge in demand for M&S products in the run up to launch which has impacted a very small number of orders today.
"The vast majority of customers are unaffected and will be delivered as normal.
"We would like to thank our customers for giving M&S such a big welcome and sincere apologies to any customers having to wait a bit longer."
The apology comes after Ocado's boss Tim Steiner publicly criticised Waitrose, previously its delivery partner for two decades, which has been telling customers "we'll take it from here" after the two split.
Mr Steiner told The Sunday Times: "Well, they can't take it from here because they don't have the technology, the infrastructure or the systems."
Waitrose executive director James Bailey batted off the criticism, telling Sky's Ian King Live: "Tim runs a very good IT business and Waitrose runs a good supermarket."
Marks & Spencer already sells clothes and other products online but is entering the grocery delivery market years behind rivals.
The launch sees its full range of 6,000 food products made available with Ocado Retail, together with Ocado's own label goods and branded lines.
Ocado said 20,000 packets of Percy Pigs had already been ordered prior to the launch and 10 Ocado vans were branded with the brand's logo to mark the occasion.
The venture is being launched after Marks & Spencer last year agreed a £750m deal to buy a 50% stake in Ocado's retail arm - which is separate from Ocado's business selling its delivery know-how to global retailers.
It comes as the coronavirus places severe pressure on the wider M&S business, with sales of its clothing and homeware particularly badly hit.
Thousands of job cuts have been announced as the company seeks to accelerate its transformation under a "never the same again" strategy prompted by the pandemic.
The launch of the food delivery venture comes at a time when online grocery sales are enjoying strong growth as consumer shopping habits are transformed by the virus.
Stuart Machin, managing director of M&S Food, said: "Taking our full food range online for the first time is transformative."
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Meanwhile, Waitrose has invested in an expansion of its standalone online operations and is stressing the exclusivity of lines such as Duchy Originals via its own platform.
Last week the supermarket, which is part of the John Lewis Partnership - also struggling in the face of the pandemic - announced a trial tie-up with Deliveroo to delivery groceries in just 30 minutes.