Sainsbury’s has unveiled plans to expand its Chop Chop bike delivery service to 20 UK cities outside London to help increase its online capacity.

The grocer is partnering with Stuart, part of national courier firm DPD Group, to help launch its one-hour bike delivery service, beginning in Brighton and Bristol today, with Manchester and Reading to follow from next week.

Sainsbury’s said that, by mid-June, 50 stores will offer the service across 20 different UK cities. It would also be expanding the service from central London into suburbs such as Charlton, Morden, Richmond and Haringey.

The announcement follows the relaunching of the Chop Chop service from Sainsbury’s Blackfriars convenience store in central London, one of 12 the grocer was forced to close when the coronavirus pandemic slashed commuting.

Sainsbury’s said the expansion of the Chop Chop service would support its bid to increase the total number of online grocery delivery slots across the UK to 600,000 per week and would increase capacity by a further 400%.

Chop Chop customers can order up to 20 Sainsbury’s products from a range of around 3,000 SKUs via the dedicated app.

Chief digital officer at Sainsbury’s Clodagh Moriarty said: “We are doing everything we can to feed the nation and offer our customers quick, convenient and safe ways to get their groceries.

“Demand for home grocery deliveries has never been higher and we have been receiving great feedback for Chop Chop, with customers really valuing the speed and convenience it brings.”