Waitrose in talks with Amazon over online grocery deal. Credit: bazzadarambler/ Flickr (Creative Commons).

UK-based supermarket chain Waitrose is reportedly considering entering a third-party deal with e-commerce giant Amazon to sell groceries online.

The Telegraph, who initially reported the news, said that the two parties were discussing a partnership, which is said to be similar to the one Amazon signed with retailer Iceland last month.

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Iceland and Amazon struck a deal through which Prime customers will have access to thousands of products from Iceland stores.

The “Iceland on Amazon” service will initially be available in some areas of Greater Manchester, with plans to expand elsewhere in the coming months.

Waitrose, which has been doing business online through Waitrose.com, previously had a supply agreement with Ocado.

The agreement, which came into effect in 2000, saw the retailer supply Ocado with both branded and own-label products. The deal ended in September 2020.

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Since then, the UK group has partnered with various partners for rapid food delivery.

In July this year, the retailer also signed a multi-year partnership with food delivery platform Uber Eats for grocery delivery service in the UK. It also partnered with grocery delivery service provider Deliveroo.

Bloomberg recently reported that Waitrose owner John Lewis Partnership (JLP) planned to raise at least £150m ($183m) from the sale and leaseback of 12 Waitrose supermarkets.

Amazon also has third-party agreements with major retailers such as Co-op and Morrisons, to sell their groceries on its website.

The e-commerce major first ventured into the UK grocery sector in 2016 with the launch of the online delivery service Amazon Fresh.

Last month, the retailer opened a new Amazon Fresh store on London’s Liverpool Street.