Booker says it has ‘no option’ but to introduce delivery fees because of rising costs

From 28 February, the food and drink wholesaler will charge Premier and Family Shopper retailers £29.95 for each delivery, with unaffiliated stores paying £34.95.

The cost will not fluctuate regardless of the size of the order, although the minimum order of £1,000 continues to apply.

In a meeting with NFRN representatives, the wholesaler said the past two years had been “demanding” for all UK businesses, including Booker, with inflation and increasing costs for drivers, vehicles and fuel all playing their part.

Booker told the NFRN it had “no option” but to start charging for deliveries and added that in order to maximise accuracy and availability it was changing the cut-off time to place orders to 9am for next-day delivery.

A Booker spokesperson said: “We take these changes very seriously and regrettably have been forced to take this difficult decision due to rising costs.”

Narinder Randhawa, national president of the NFRN, said: “We are grateful to Booker for keeping us appraised of the situation and we will explore with them ways of offsetting these extra costs.”