Morrisons' long-awaited online grocery delivery service will begin in January.
The operation has been two years in the making, and aims to claw back sales lost to Morrisons' rivals such as Tesco and Asda, which have pioneered successful online delivery services in recent years.
Starting in Warwickshire, before setting up in Yorkshire a month later, the scheme is due to reach London by summer 2014, and be available to half of the UK population by 2015.
The service will provide one-hour delivery slots and a text when the driver is on her/his way and delivery charges will start from just £1. Deliveries from the start of the venture will come from adedicated customer fulfilment centre in the Midlands.
Customers will also be able to confirm the freshness of their products before accepting them, while the website will have its team of own experts, including a virtual butcher and a virtual fishmonger.
There will also be a unique grading system for the quality of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Dalton Philips, Morrisons chief executive, will evenbe delivering the first order in one of the bright yellow vans himself, as he seeks to turn around the chain's fortunes by selling more fresh food online than any other grocer.
According to IGD Retail, the online channel is set to be worth £14.6 billion by 2018, which is a 123.7 per cent increase from its current value of £6.5 billion.
