Asda launches pay-monthly delivery pass

Asda has introduced a new pay-monthly delivery pass to rival Tesco and Ocado. We take a look at how it compares.

Asda has launched a pay-monthly delivery pass for online grocery shoppers.

The Groceries Delivery Pass will cost £5 to purchase for those that sign up before the 13th of September.

After this introductory period it will cost £8 to buy one each month.

The pass entitles you to free delivery on online grocery orders anytime for 31 days.

How much can you save?

Asda usually charges between £3 and £5.50 to delivery grocery orders made online.

With the new pass you can get one free delivery each day in a month as long as the minimum order spends are met.

The Groceries Delivery Pass can be used on orders over £25 until 24th September. After this time you will need to spend a minimum of £40 to use it.

Asda reckons the new pass could save an average of £17 for a household likely to do five shops in a month.

The competition

Tesco and Ocado are the only other supermarkets with a similar delivery saver scheme.

Here's a rundown of what each offers:

Tesco

Tesco offers two delivery saver plans: Anytime (free delivery seven days a week) or Midweek (free delivery Tuesday to Thursday), which are available on three- or six-month deals.

The Anytime plan costs £12 a month on a three-month deal or £10 a month on a six-month deal.

The Midweek plans cost £9 a month on a three-month deal or £7.50 a month on a six-month deal.

Like Asda, there's a limit of one delivery per day and you have to spend at least £40 per shop.

Whatever plan you go for it will renew automatically, but you will be given warning and the option to cancel it.

Tesco’s normal delivery slots can cost from £2 up to £6.

Ocado

Elsewhere, Ocado offers a scheme called Smart Pass which combines Ocado’s old Delivery Pass and Savings Pass into one.

Shoppers get a choice of two delivery plans: Anytime (free delivery seven days a week) or Midweek (free delivery Tuesday to Thursday), which are both available on monthly, six-monthly or annual payment plans.

Anytime costs £10.99 monthly, £49.99 for six months and £109.99 annually. The annual payment works out as £9.17 a month while the six-month deal equates to instalments of £8.33.

Midweek costs £6.99 monthly, £34.99 for six months and £69.99 annually. The annual and six-month payment plans work out as £5.83 a month.

With both plans you can get added benefits like access to savings of up to 10% on over 750 brands, priority access to Christmas deliveries, product samples, subscription to the Ocadolife magazine, exclusive offers and discounts as well as anniversary gifts.

Like Tesco and Asda  there's a limit of one delivery per day and you have to spend at least £40 per shop. Again the plans automatically renew, but you will be given warning before they do.

Ocado’s normal delivery charges vary wildly; some slots are free, while others will set you back £6.99.

How they compare

Asda 's new delivery saver scheme undercuts both Tesco and Ocado.

The £5 introductory offer makes Asda £5 cheaper for delivery compared to Tesco's cheapest anytime offer and nearly £6 cheaper than Ocado's monthly anytime offer.

And even when the price reverts to £8 after 13th September, Asda will be £2 cheaper than Tesco and nearly £3 cheaper than Ocado.

What do other supermarkets offer?

Supermarket delivery costs can be the deciding factor on where you choose to shop, so let's take a look at what the other big supermarkets are offering.

At Sainsbury’s orders over £40 will be charged between £2.99 and £5.99. Orders under £40 will be charged a maximum delivery fee of £6.95. Orders over £100 get free delivery on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Waitrose offers free delivery on all its time-slots, but you have to spend at least £50.

Morrisons has been slow to offer customers online shopping, but has recently struck a deal with Ocado to get help in launching a service by January 2014. Waitrose also uses internet grocer Ocado to help support its online grocery arm.

Other ways to save

If you shop regularly with Tesco, Ocado or Asda and need your shopping delivered, the pay monthly scheme could save you money.

For more ideas on how to save read How to slash your supermarket delivery costs.

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