SAINSBURY’S shoppers have shared their disappointment after the supermarket has made a change to its delivery fee.
Customers have expressed their frustration after the retailer announced plans to raise the minimum spend for free delivery.
Sainsbury’s shoppers who posses a delivery pass, which costs £7.50 a month, previously avoided delivery charges if they spent £40 or more on their shop.
But from Tuesday, April 7, that amount is set to rise by an extra £10, leaving households who spend less than £50 with extra charges.
All customers who spend less than £50 will be charged a fee of £7.50, which has gone up from £7.
Frustrated shoppers took to social media to share their thoughts on the delivery change.
One X user described the update as a “very poor policy”, while another called it “a way of pushing people to spend more money”.
Another person pointed out: “It’s already £80 a year for a delivery pass to get it delivered for less, so it’s not even actually free. I understand them needing to raise prices, but by £10?! Hard on single and disabled [people].”
“Are they declaring war on pensioners?” asked another X poster.
Facebook users shared similar concerns for the communities they worried the new policy will disproportionately affect.
“Must admit when I got the email I immediately thought of pensioners, and all the people who need that delivery as a lifeline,” one commenter wrote.
Another person said the update will likely impact “everyone who lives alone”.
“It’s worrying for people who are struggling with health or who are alone,” another commenter agreed.
“It’s not just £10, if they depend on Sainsbury’s for shopping, it’s another £40 a month or £520 a year on top.”
“Nope, not happening. Especially since my normal weekly shop as a singleton is under £30. Delivery pass cancelled,” said another social media user.
Customers without a delivery pass who spend more than £50 still pay a delivery fee, costing between £1 and £5.50.
A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s said: “We want to do everything possible to ensure online shopping is as simple and affordable for our customers as possible.
“The spend needed to qualify for standard delivery had remained unchanged for well over a decade, and after a recent review, it will increase next month from £40 to £50 to reflect the costs for our business in providing this service.
“The vast majority of our customers already spend over this threshold and will subsequently see no impact when shopping with us online, while options like our Delivery Pass and Click & Collect can help to reduce costs further.”
