Tesco Christmas delivery slots 2022: can shoppers book Xmas slots for their groceries - has website crashed?

With Christmas adverts now beginning to appear on our TV screens, the countdown to Christmas 2022 has officially begun.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the run up to the festive season has been dominated by competition for supermarket delivery slots.

Not only have they allowed people to beat the queues, but getting your groceries delivered has meant you’re less likely to miss out on your Christmas turkey and trimmings.

But shoppers hoping to seal a Tesco delivery slot on Tuesday (15 November) have been left facing a huge queue as shoppers flock to the retailer’s website. It comes as the supermarket has launched its festive marketing push, which has included a collaboration with Mars Wrigley to remove Bounty Bars from some Celebrations boxes.

So, has the Tesco website crashed - and how long is the queue? Here’s what you need to know.

What’s happening to the Tesco website?

Tesco opened up access to its Christmas delivery slots to its Delivery Saver customers at 6am on Tuesday (15 November). The rest of the UK retailer’s shoppers can access its festive slots from next Tuesday (22 November).

It is one of the last supermarkets to open up its Christmas shopping service, with most other grocers having already launched their delivery services.

The Tesco launch proved to be extremely popular, with queues already stacking up in advance of the 6am opening time. One customer wrote on Twitter that they had logged on at 5.59am, “only to find over 135,000 in the queue already”.

By 6.13am, the queue had swelled to 180,000 people, before peaking at more than 290,000 by 8am. Customers reported having to endure a 2.5 hour wait, and said they had found the 22 and 23 December had been fully booked.

Some also reported glitches, with one person writing on Twitter: “Hey @Tesco just sat for half an hour in your xmas queue and as soon as I reached the front of the queue I got kicked out and now the wait is an hour.”

Another wrote: “I was 38,000 in the queue and the app ‘refreshed’ itself and now I’m number 178,000. You’re having a laugh.”

What has Tesco said?

Tesco has apologised to consumers who faced issues accessing Christmas delivery slots on its website. However, it said the issues users had experienced had been resolved.

A spokesperson said: “Online Christmas slots are now available for Delivery Saver customers on our website and Groceries app after some customers temporarily had difficulty logging on or placing orders this morning.

“We’re really sorry about that and it has now been resolved with slots available for both Home Delivery and Click+Collect over the Christmas period.”

Tesco has more than 1.2 million delivery slots available throughout the week leading up to Christmas. Customers can select dates right up until 24 December.

The supermarket has reported that there is good availability in Christmas week and has said availability is particularly strong for those opting for its click and collect service.