Iceland ramps up same-day delivery plans with ‘Swift’ trademark

Retail Week understands the frozen food specialist is planning to launch a same-day delivery service called Swift to rival those of competitors such as Amazon, Tesco, Ocado and Sainsbury’s, as demand for online groceries continues to grow amid the coronavirus crisis. 

In its application to register the trademark, Iceland said ‘Swift’ would relate to “mail order retail services” and “electronic or online retail services”.

Grocery sources told Retail Week Iceland has been planning a same-day delivery service for some time. It currently offers next-day deliveries on orders over £35, but the ‘Swift’ trademark is the clearest indication yet that the new fulfilment option could be close to launching.  

Iceland’s trademark application was added to the IPO’s journal last week, although a register on the patent office’s website shows it was filed on September 3. 

Iceland declined to comment. 

The move comes as grocery retailers accelerate efforts to grow their ecommerce credentials following the rapid shift of spend online during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 

Latest data from market share experts Kantar revealed that online grocery sales surged 76% year on year during the four weeks to October 4, with one in five UK households now ordering home food deliveries. 

Online sales now account for 12.5% of the total grocery market, although that is down from the April lockdown peak of more than 16%. 

The potential launch of Swift would allow Iceland to rival the same-day fulfilment propositions offered by the likes of Tesco, but it is not expected to be as quick as the likes of Ocado Zoom and Sainsbury’s Chop Chop, both of which offer deliveries in as little as one hour in certain postcodes.  

Iceland has already launched a partnership with Uber Eats in London to offer similar rapid deliveries. 

Last month, the grocer announced it would be taking on 3,000 new staff in a bid to expand its delivery fleet by 30%. Some of those new workers would also be employed to pick and pack online orders.

Since March, Iceland has grown its online delivery capacity fourfold and now offers more than 750,000 slots a week.