Marks & Spencer has launched its long-awaited online food delivery service.
Trials are under way in Camden, north London, and in Woodley near Reading.
Customers in a three-mile radius of the stores can order ready meals within an hour and other groceries within two hours.
The minimum order is £10 and delivery is free with partnered courier Gophr, although the Woodley store is testing a click-and-collect service only.
Marks & Spencer is to trial an online grocery shopping service this year, conceding it could no longer ignore the fastest growing segment of the market
A spokesman said: ‘We have started two small food online trials with selected Sparks members as we explore what works for our customers.’
The company added that Gophr was chosen after a ‘rigorous selection process’.
It was in April that M&S conceded it could no longer ignore the fastest-growing segment of the market.
Steve Rowe, M&S’ group chief executive, signalled that M&S would carry out extensive trialling before any roll-out of an online grocery service
For years, the chain has resisted giving its customers the option of ordering food online for home delivery, saying it did not make economic sense for its offering, which is focused on the ‘food for tonight’ market and tends to be small basket sizes.
But with Britain’s online food market expected to nearly double to £17.2billion in the five years to 2020, according to industry research group IGD, it had a change of heart.
The strategy comes as customers have been abandoning the retailer’s clothing range in the last few years but are heading in large numbers to the food aisle to pick up an evening meal.
Steve Rowe, M&S’ group chief executive, who used to run its food business, previously said: ‘We continue to review food online carefully. It has not cost us anything over the last five years by not being online with food.
‘Our customers haven’t moved yet, but they will and we need to ensure that we are ready with the right response.’
Amazon launched a British version of its AmazonFresh food delivery service last June in a move by the world’s largest online retailer to break into the UK grocery market.
Britain has one of the world’s most developed online markets, with the big four supermarkets Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Wal-Mart’s Asda and Morrisons competing with specialist delivery firm Ocado.
‘The economics of food online are not straightforward and it is not something that we are going to rush into until we have substantial customer insight and a better understanding of what is right for M&S and right for our customers,’ said Mr Rowe earlier this year.
While M&S’s clothing business has struggled in recent years, its food business has thrived.
In November last year, Rowe detailed plans to close about 30 UK stores selling clothing, homewares and food and downsize or convert another 45 into food stores over five years.