Tesco Increases Minimum Spend For Grocery Orders

The minimum spend for your basket at Tesco groceries will go up from 23 July 2015. This will also impact Tesco Delivery Saver customers. Find out what the other supermarkets consider to be a minimum basket size.

Currently, when you place an order with Tesco groceries for home delivery you are able to get a basket worth £25 or more delivered but this will only be the case for a little while longer. If your order is under £25, Tesco adds a £4 minimum basket charge to your online order.

For any orders that are placed after 23 July 2015 the minimum delivery amount will change.

You will have an additional £4 added to the cost of the delivery if the order is less than £40. So, if you have ordered £36 worth of groceries, it’s worth adding £4 of non-perishable items (any foods that won’t go off, avoiding food waste) so you hit the £40 threshold, instead of facing charges.

If you are a Tesco Delivery Saver customer and have paid upfront for unlimited and discount delivery this will also impact on you I’m afraid. From 23 July, if you don’t meet the new minimum spend of £25, you will be charged the price of the delivery slot you’ve booked, along with the £4 charge that applies to all Tesco grocery orders.

This will also affect click and collect orders that don’t meet the required £40 minimum spend.

What you think…

I asked on the Skint Dad Facebook page for your opinion on the changes to the delivery costs. There is mixed opinion.

Clare cancelled her Tesco Delivery Saver due to the increase:

My partner works away and there’s no way I would want to spend £40 a week on my Tesco delivery. I get my meat from the local butcher too so this isn’t in my Tesco shop.

Vanessa has found it cheaper to shop elsewhere:

Basically, it’s yet ANOTHER way of trying to get people to spend more – there are a lot of families that rely on delivery services, due to lack of a car or mobility for example, and if they have no choice but to have a delivery each week, then it will make a massive difference on weekly/monthly/annual food budget spend! I think this will massively impact the amount of people using Tesco for their food shopping now, and they may see customers shopping elsewhere completely. I for one feel a bit conned. Oh, and also Tesco has gone really expensive at the minute – my usual weekly shop was £75 in Tesco, but I did it for £38 in Aldi last week! Maybe Tesco need to look at ways of keeping/attracting customers, rather than charging over the odds?

Angela thinks supermarkets should offer free delivery over a certain amount:

This is silly we are all trying to cut down and buy what we need yet this is going to mean people have to add more to get it delivered or have to go to the store!! I hate going to the store as it’s a waste of family time and with kids it’s a nightmare! I think as we are paying for delivery it shouldn’t matter the total!! Maybe they should have a charge for under a certain price and free when you go over a certain amount!?!?

Robert understands the business reason why Tesco have put put the price for delivery up:

Seems sensible. Tesco have extended themselves far too much as a business and they’ve had to make some tough choices. I really can’t see how they can make a profit on home shopping deliveries.

Karen is changing how often and where she shops:

I usually shop at around £30 a week there, I have a delivery pass and would not spend £40 a week. Therefore I will switch to shopping fortnightly online and shop elsewhere for my weekly stuff. This means Tesco will lose my custom once a fortnight as they are not my closest store.

Other supermarket minimum charges

Each supermarket has different amounts that they consider to be minimum spends:

Asda

Asda charges £40 as a minimum spend for delivery. They put their prices up in January 2015 from £25.

Iceland

Home delivery from Iceland is free when you spend over £25 if it’s delivered from a store. They have started to offer online shopping but the minimum charge for this is £35 but they do not have a very large reach as yet.

 

Morrisons

The minimum order amount you need to put in your basket from Morrisons is £40.

Ocado

With Ocado, you have to spend a minimum of £40 before you can check out an order.

Sainsbury’s

For Sainsbury’s orders, the minimum spend is £25. However, if your order is under £40, no matter what the charge is for your slot, you will be charged £6.95 for delivery. If you have a basket worth £40 or more, you will be charged the quote amount for the time slot.

Waitrose

Waitrose offer free delivery on all their delivery shops but the minimum basket amount is £60.

They all offer a Shop in Branch service where you shop in your local branch and then they deliver. They charge £3 delivery for a shop of more than £50 and £5 delivery for a shop of less than £50.

Lidl and Aldi

They do not currently offer a delivery service.

What are your thoughts?  Now you’ve seen what other supermarkets charge, will the changes affect the way you shop at Tesco?