This change has been felt particularly in city centres, where shoppers living in areas of high population density flocked online to buy food in a way that allowed them to forgo the supermarket car park queue and stay indoors.

In response, retailers have launched a range of initiatives to bolster their urban fulfilment options.

In recent months, grocers such as the Co-op and Marks & Spencer have launched partnerships with Deliveroo, while Waitrose is developing its third London-centric customer fulfilment centre in Greenford, which will become operational before the end of this year.