The Co-op has expanded its robot delivery service in and around Milton Keynes to meet increased customer demand.

The convenience store retailer said it had seen the number of customers using robot deliveries in Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire has “more than doubled” since the start of the UK’s coronavirus lockdown and transaction values have increased four-fold.

The service is now available from eight Co-op stores with six new stores being added since March.

The Co-op became the first grocer to trial same-day autonomous robot deliveries in the UK when it partnered with Milton Keynes-based Starship Technologies in April 2018.

It said the partnership was originally intended to offer customers “additional choice, ease and convenience” but it had become a “lifeline for vulnerable or housebound members of the community”.

Co-op head of online development Jason Perry said: “Quality, ease and convenience is at the core of our approach and we continue to innovate and expand access to our products online in order to offer greater flexibility and choice to meet consumer needs in our communities.”

The convenience store retailer said same-day delivery services, including its partnership with food delivery app Deliveroo and its online shop, would be available from more than 650 stores across the UK by the end of this year.