Argos introduces nationwide same-day delivery

In preparation for the busiest shopping season of the year, Argos has become the first British retailer to introduce a same-day delivery service across the UK. The scheme, named Fast Track, will cover 20,000 of Argos’s most popular products and it comes with a fee of £3.95 per delivery.

With this move, it is thought that other retailers could be forced to offer new delivery options. Amazon has already extended its Prime Now service – but which service provides you with the best value for money? Let’s find out.

Delivery wars

In a bid to make their Fast Track scheme run seamlessly, Argos has recruited 3,300 drivers and purchased 800 vans to make sure that shoppers receive their goods on the same day. The service is to be run across England, Scotland and Wales, including remote addresses.

Deliveries will be made in slots of 7am-10am, 10am-1pm, 2pm-6pm and 7pm-10pm. As long as you order your goods before the cut-off point of 6pm, you should receive your delivery by 10pm that night. Orders made after the cut-off will be delivered the next day between 7am- 10am or 10am - 1pm and there’s the option of same-day collection from an Argos store as well. The service is set to run seven days a week, 364 days of the year.

John Walden, chief executive of Argos, has said that although customers can continue to shop with them in the traditional way, “no other retailer can offer the breadth of products immediately or at that speed.”

Value for money

In response to this, Amazon has extended its Prime Now service which delivers items in just one hour to parts of London and Birmingham to include other major cities in the coming months. To use this service, you need to be a member of Amazon Prime which costs £79 a year and then pay a delivery fee of £6.99.

For the yearly subscription fee of £79, Amazon Prime does come with other features such as unlimited one-day delivery, unlimited movies and TV shows with Prime Instant Video and Prime Music, but at an additional £6.99, the one hour delivery service may prove too costly to keep up with rival services like those now offered by Argos.

But you don’t always have to fork out on delivery charges if you plan ahead. The following are just some of the stores that offer free delivery to your home or local store*:

Boots: Free home delivery on orders exceeding £40, delivered within four working days.

M&S: Free home delivery on orders over £50, will arrive within 5 days. Collecting online orders from a store is free, when ordering before 5pm.

Next: Free next day delivery into store, when you order by midnight.

John Lewis: Free delivery on orders over £50, delivered within three to five working days. Free delivery into a store of your choice, when spending over £30.

Toys R Us: Free delivery on orders over £29.99.

Even though we’re only in October, getting prepared for Christmas early could help you save money in the long run. For money-saving tips, read our guides on saving for Christmas and starting your Christmas shopping.

*Correct at time of writing – 07/10/15