In pictures: Argos opens its smallest store at Cannon Street Tube station

The new-format store would be able to fit into 20 standard Argos stores and the retailer has committed to a six-year lease for the shop.

Argos chief operating officer David Robinson said: “Customers can either order by midnight and pick up on the way into the office at 7.30am when the store opens or they can order in the morning and pick up from 4pm on the way home from work.

“The real test will be with the customers to see how they react and if they react well then we will definitely look to try and open some more stores.”

The store has been branded as an ‘Argos Collect’ store - the first time the retailer has created a sub brand for its stores.

Argos employs four full-time staff at the store and 10 part-time staff. The shop is 650 sq ft in total with 170 sq ft of selling space.

Fifty thousand passengers pass through Cannon Street station each day.

Around 2,000 of the retailer’s best-selling products are stocked in the store and an additional 20,000 will be available for collection if customers order online.

TfL head of retail Stuart Anderson said: “The battleground is now transport hubs and Argos were the founders of click-and-collect. Now a lot of retailers are genuinely trying to catch up”.