As if we needed yet another excuse to go click happy on the Asos website. The fashion giant has just launched same day delivery, making it even easier for us to blow our cash on a last-minute outfit.
The service, dubbed Asos Instant, is only currently available in London, although it will be extended to other UK cities in the coming months.
For £12.95, if you place an order before 10am between Sunday and Friday you'll have the option of receiving the parcel between 6 and 10pm the same evening. (Just hope that clubbing outfit arrives before you have to leave the house.)
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Same day delivery isn't new, of course; Net-A-Porter has offered the service for a while, as have Farfetch, Matches Fashion and Gucci. But considering the proportion of many people's wardrobes that hails from Asos, it's a pretty game-changing move from the affordable online retail giant. It already offers next day delivery (£9.95 for UK customers), click and collect, the option to pick a one-hour delivery slot and of course, free returns (thank god).
Earlier this year, delivery vans used by retailers and supermarket chains were found to be one of the biggest sources of air pollutants, according to tests published by the Sunday Times. Their engines emit up to 23 times the level of toxins allowed under UK law, contributing to highly polluted urban air.
“Deliveries to homes and businesses are surging and these vehicles do high mileages, often in urban areas, carrying big payloads,” said Nick Molden of Emissions Analytics, which conducted the tests.
Politicians even proposed banning online deliveries to London offices to help reduce pollution and congestion on the capital’s roads. Val Shawcross, London’s deputy mayor for transport, said light vans make up a fifth of traffic in central London and that companies should instead be promoting click-and-collect services, “so that people can collect their deliveries on the way home”.