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Supermarket Christmas delivery slots 2023: when can you book yours?
Morrisons and Sainsbury's have opened their Christmas grocery delivery slots, joining the likes of Ocado, Asda and Waitrose.
However, only customers with a Morrisons or Sainsbury's Delivery Pass can access the supermarkets' respective Christmas delivery slots right now, and everyone else will have to wait until Monday 23 October (Sainsbury's) or Wednesday 25 October (Morrisons).
Here, we round up what we know so far about when you'll be able to book a festive delivery with your supermarket.
When can you book a Christmas delivery from your supermarket?
Asda
All Asda customers can now book their Christmas grocery delivery and click-and-collect slots.
The minimum online spend is £40 for delivery and £25 for click and collect.
If you're ordering a fresh turkey you'll need to add this to your basket before Thursday 14 December and book a slot between Thursday 21 December - Saturday 23 December.
Asda will also offer deliveries on Christmas Eve, but you won't be able to book one of those slots until Monday 20 December.
- Find out more: Asda supermarket review
Morrisons
Morrisons Delivery Pass customers can now book deliveries for between 20-24 of December with a minimum spend of £25.
If you don't have a Delivery Pass, you'll be able to book from Wednesday 25 October.
- Find out more: Morrisons supermarket review
Ocado
Ocado was the first supermarket to kick things off this year, but only for people with a Smart Pass (its paid-for delivery subscription).
Smart Pass customers have been receiving an email or SMS the day before they can book their Christmas delivery, with the first customers having been contacted in September.
If you don't have a Smart Pass you'll have to wait for the general release, but slots sell out extremely quickly so you'll need to act fast if you want to snap one up. We've asked Ocado when general release opens and we'll update this story when we hear back.
It's worth bearing in mind though that slots booked for 20-24 December have a punchy minimum spend of £90.
- Find out more: Ocado supermarket review
Sainsbury's
Sainsbury's Delivery Pass Customers have been able to book slots since Monday 16 October.
General booking will open from Monday 23 October.
Click and Collect opens up on 20 November.
- Find out more: Sainsbury's supermarket review
Tesco
Tesco told us Anytime Delivery Saver customers will get access to book on Tuesday 7 November at 6am. This excludes off-peak plans.
Slots for pay-as-you-go and off-peak customers will open on Tuesday 21 November at 6am.
- Find out more: Tesco supermarket review
Waitrose
Waitrose has now opened delivery booking to all customers.
Its Christmas delivery slots run from Wednesday 20 December to Sunday 24 December.
- Find out more: Waitrose supermarket review
Should you pay for a delivery pass?
If you regularly have your groceries delivered, it can work out cheaper to buy a delivery pass than to pay for deliveries each time you shop.
Some of these passes also give you priority booking for Christmas delivery slots.
| Supermarket | Anytime delivery pass monthly cost | Midweek or off-peak pass monthly cost | Early access to Christmas delivery slots? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asda Delivery Pass | £6.50 | £3.50 | Yes |
| Morrisons Delivery Pass | £8 | £5 | Yes |
| Ocado Smart Pass | £8.99 | £3.99 | Yes |
| Tesco Delivery Saver Plan* | £6.99 | £3.99 | Yes, but only with an Anytime pass |
| Sainsbury's Delivery Pass | £7.50 | £4 | Yes |
Prices correct as of 25 September 2023. *Price taken from 12-month delivery plan.
- Find out more: which is the best supermarket for online deliveries?
Will your Christmas shop cost more this year?
Soaring food prices mean it's likely you'll pay more for your festive favourites this year.
We analysed almost 27,000 food and drink prices at Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose for our monthly food inflation tracker.
In September, the overall rate of inflation fell slightly to 11.2% across the eight supermarkets.
But some food is continuing to see huge price increases. We found everyday essential foods including porridge oats, meat and yogurt have increased in price by up to 145% over a year.
- Find out more: how to spend less at the supermarket
Do you want to see your supermarket take action to support you through the cost of living crisis? Sign our Affordable Food For All petition
Four ways to save money on your Christmas shop
1. Shop at the cheapest supermarket
Of course some supermarkets are cheaper than others - but the difference can be astonishing, especially when you do a big shop.
Each month we compare the UK's biggest grocers to reveal the cheapest. Discounters Aldi and Lidl are unfailingly the winners, but if you prefer the range of a bigger store and the convenience of online deliveries, Asda is a good bet.
- Find out more: supermarket price comparison
2. Make the most of loyalty schemes
Most supermarkets offer loyalty schemes and many include lower prices for members on selected items.
They usually also allow you to collect points when you shop, which you can then convert into money-off vouchers. Tesco Clubcard vouchers double in value when you spend them with its reward partners, and Nectar points can also be used with around 300 other companies.
Asda has launched a new savings feature on its rewards app where you can get a bonus of up to £5 when you transfer Asda Pounds from your existing Cashpot balance.
These are all great perks, but Which? research has found that loyalty prices aren't always all they're cracked up to be, so treat them with a pinch of salt and only buy what you were intending to buy.
- Find out more: loyalty cards compared
3. Check out Christmas saver schemes
Many supermarkets have Christmas saver schemes that allow you to save throughout the year when you do your weekly shopping, and be rewarded with a bonus to spend during the festive season.
Asda, Co-up, Iceland, Sainsbury’s and Tesco all have schemes with bonuses ranging from 4-6%.
- Find out more: which supermarket offers the best Christmas savings scheme?
4. Get cashback on your spending
You can earn money back on purchases if you use a cashback credit card. Just remember to pay back your full balance each month to avoid cashback gains being wiped out by interest charges.
Some debit card providers also offer cashback. Chase, for example, pays 1% cashback on everyday debit card spending for the first year after opening your account.
Alternatively, shopping via a cashback site such as Quidco and TopCashback could be worthwhile - just make sure you click through via the cashback site link before making your purchase, or it won't be registered.
- Find out more: best cashback and reward credit cards 2023
This article was first published on 25 September 2023, and has been updated since then to reflect the latest releases from the supermarkets. Last updated: 19 October 2023.
