When the first lockdown came into force in the UK last March, supermarket delivery slots vanished. Many people – myself included – began to rely on our local corner shops, stocked with toilet roll and bakers’ yeast. They were somewhere you could pick up a bottle of wine after a shell-shocking day of home schooling, or replenish basics like pasta and rice. They provided a lifeline for families, elderly and isolated people, and those without cars.
These days, though, no sector can flourish without tech companies trying to muscle in. You may have already seen the adverts for apps like Weezy, Jiffy, Getir and Dija: these companies promise they can deliver your groceries faster than it would take you to walk around the corner and back. They cater to harried parents who have run out of nappies, students with late-night munchies, and desperate dinner party hosts short on booze.
Since the pandemic began, about $14bn in venture capital funding has rushed into instant grocery apps, while delivery apps are already targeting vacant high street properties to establish “dark stores”…
