Addison Lee launches two-hour delivery service aimed at local London businesses

Addison Lee has expanded its courier service with the launch of AL Now – a two-hour, rapid delivery service for local London businesses.

Rather than giving customers all-day delivery windows, AL Now allows users to offer consumers a specific two-hour delivery window. The service is already used by several major retail clients and is being expanded to help independent local businesses compete on a more level playing field with retail giants such as Amazon.

A number of companies are already trialling the service in time for Valentine’s Day, including Islington-based champagne retailer The Finest Bubble, Earlsfield florist Blume Studios, Menswear retailer Hackett and N1 antique store Urban Vintage Affair.

Addison Lee CEO Liam Griffin said: “Since the first lockdown last March, we’ve seen our courier services grow by 30% as shopping behaviour shifted online. At the same time, we have seen shoppers come to expect that their purchases will be delivered at a time and date of their choosing.”

New data from Addison Lee suggests people are planning to use local businesses rather than large retailers such as Amazon to provide a special Valentine’s Day gift for loved ones. Almost half (47%) of those celebrating this year want to support local businesses in their community. 

But more than half of the 2,000 people surveyed (54%) said they’d be more likely to shop with local businesses if they offered a quick and efficient local delivery service, while 34% were worried that they wouldn’t be able to pick up Valentine’s gifts this year with shops being shut.