Busy Tesco in Northampton temporarily closes for 'complete refit' as it aims to compete with robot delivery service

A busy store which serves thousands in Northampton has temporarily closed while it undergoes major refurbishment works.

Tesco Express in Wellingborough Road temporarily closed down on Sunday (May 21) for a ‘complete refit’.

A Tesco spokeswoman said: “The store is having a complete refit, with new fixtures and fittings added throughout to improve the shopping experience for customers.

"As part of this refresh, we will also be launching our Whoosh superfast delivery service from the store."

The Whoosh same-day delivery service will see Tesco deliver from its store to customers’ doors in as little as 30 minutes, according to Tesco.

Customers can choose from a range of products, including fresh food, everyday and baby essentials, snacks, treats, and much more, the Tesco spokeswoman said.

The store is set to reopen on Monday (May 29), Tesco confirmed.

"We’re excited to welcome customers back to our newly refurbished Northampton St Edmunds Express store next week,” the spokeswoman said.

Tesco apologised for any inconvenience caused by the temporary closure.

Tesco’s new delivery service will surely be competing with the popular Starship Technologies robots, which deliver groceries from Co-op shops in Northampton direct to people’s homes.

Around 80,000 households in the town have access to the Starship Technologies’ robot delivery service.

Neighbourhoods which can access the robots include Abington, Boothville, Duston, East Hunsbury, Great Billing, Hardingstone, Hopping Hill, Kingsthorpe, Spinney Hill, Upton, Weston Favell and Wootton, Blackthorn, Far Cotton, Grange Park, Southfields and Thornton Park.

The robots were first introduced to the town back in November 2020.