THREE major supermarkets have revealed the exact dates you can book Christmas delivery slots.

With the big day just 75 days away many households are keen to get preparations underway.

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In the last few years, the demand for getting your festive food shop dropped at your door has surged.

Shoppers have gone wild for the service as it helps take the pressure off an already stressful time.

But many are aware that bagging a slot during the festive period is notoriously difficult.

So it is worth being aware of the key dates of your favourite grocer so you are not disappointed.

Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s has today confirmed when customers can book a slot for their Christmas shop to be delivered.

Loyal customers who have the supermarket’s “Delivery Pass” get first dips and will be allowed to book home delivery and click and collect from Wednesday, October 16.

Delivery Pass holders pay a flat rate to Sainsbury’s to get their orders for free at all times of the year.

Meanwhile, non-pass holders will be allowed to book slots from the following week, Ocotber 23.

Both can schedule deliveries for between December 18 – 24.

Christmas delivery slots open on October 16 for Delivery Pass customers and 23rd October for all customers.

Customers can amend their baskets until 11pm the day before their order is due. 

Waitrose

The posh grocer has already allowed its customers to start booking slots for Christmas.

It costs £4 to book a slot and orders must be over £40.

But if shoppers are keen to get their Waitrose shop delivered to their home they should act fast.

Most of the slots from Sunday, December 22 to Tuesday, December 24 are fully booked.

Dates are still available for Friday, December 20 and Saturday, December 21.

Asda

The UK’s third-largest grocer also announced today when shoppers could secure their booking.

Like Sainsbury’s Asda is giving its delivery pass customers a head start to book their slot.

Customers who pay for this feature can book their slots for Christmas from October 15.

Meanwhile, non-pass holders can book their slot from October 22.

The supermarket said that over one million home delivery and click-and-collect slots will be available in the week leading up to Christmas.

The minimum online spend at Asda is £40 for delivery and £25 for click and collect.

Shoppers can also make changes or additions to their basket up until 11pm the night before their delivery or collection.

When do other retailers’ slots open?

It’s not just Waitrose, Asda and Saisnbury’s which offer this service to their customers.

Tesco said this month that its annual delivery pass customers can book their slots from 6am on Tuesday, November 5.

This gives customers a one-week head start on regular shoppers, who will have to wait until November 12 to nab a slot.

But if you also want to get ahead of the game, you can still sign up to the delivery plan by Monday, November 4.

Meanwhile, Morrisons has already started taking bookings with slots open now.

The same goes for Ocado with the pure-play online retailers offering customers the chance to book slots from as early as September.

M&S also launched its food-to-order service and the end of September, with slots filling up immediately.

The service lets you book and pay for your Christmas dinner and other snacks ahead of time and then collect them closer to the big day.

Orders this year can be collected on December 22, 23 or 24 in your local M&S Food Hall.

For Iceland, shoppers will be able to book delivery slots from around the middle of December.

You can read more about how this works by clicking the link here.

Money Marketing’s Weekly Must-Reads: Top 10 Stories

This week’s top stories cover Chancellor Reeves’ Budget struggles and potential changes for self-employed advisers. Read on for more:



Chancellor Reeves ‘wrapping herself in a straight jacket’ ahead of Budget

Chancellor set to scrap plans to change pensions tax relief

Rachel Reeves is expected to scrap plans to alter pensions tax relief in the upcoming Budget, as reported by The Times.

Previously, there was speculation that Reeves might switch to a flat tax relief rate to address the £22bn financial shortfall. This change could have benefited basic-rate taxpayers but penalised higher earners.

Experts now suggest the government may instead introduce a “death tax” on unused pension funds and reduce employer relief on National Insurance contributions.

True Potential hires new CEO from Tesco Bank

True Potential has appointed Tesco Bank CEO Gerry Mallon as its new chief executive, replacing co-founder Daniel Harrison, who is stepping down after seven years.

Mallon, who led Tesco Bank for over six years, will assume the role in early 2025, pending regulatory approval. In the interim, chief information officer Jeff Casson will act as CEO. Mallon brings extensive experience from roles at Ulster Bank, Danske Bank and McKinsey & Co.

True Potential’s chairman praised Mallon’s credentials and commitment to client-centric values.

Aviva completes £1.5bn annuity transaction

Aviva has completed a £1.5bn bulk purchase annuity buy-in with the Michelin Pension and Life Assurance Plan, securing the benefits of around 15,000 members.

The transaction, finalised in September 2024, included an in-specie asset transfer. Aviva’s CEO of insurance, wealth and retirement, Doug Brown, highlighted the firm’s strength in large-scale pension transactions. The Michelin Pension Trustee, advised by XPS Group, expressed satisfaction with the deal’s security improvements for members.

Aviva manages assets worth £398bn and serves 19.5 million customers.

Is time up for the self-employed adviser?

The use of self-employed advisers in financial services may soon face increased scrutiny, following the IR35 case against ex-rugby player Stuart Barnes, who was left with a £700,000 tax bill.

Employment lawyer Claire Holland warns that many self-employed adviser contracts might not pass HMRC’s employment status tests. Key concerns include personal service, control and client ownership.

Firms heavily reliant on self-employed advisers should consider alternative business models, as HMRC could soon focus on the financial services sector, mirroring actions in other industries.

FCA to probe consolidation in advice market

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced a review of consolidation in the advice market, noting an uptick in firm acquisitions over the past two years.

In a letter to advice and investment firm leaders, the FCA acknowledged that while consolidation can be beneficial, it may also lead to risks if not managed prudently.

The regulator plans to assess the suitability and financial soundness of acquisitions, urging firms to seek approval before completing transactions. Firms must prioritise good outcomes and conduct thorough due diligence, especially if acquisitions are debt-funded.

AJ Bell strengthens senior leadership team with two appointments

Mark Dampier: Why active management is really over

Mark Dampier argues that active management in the asset management industry is facing unprecedented pressure as passive funds gain dominance.

Historically, active funds were recommended for their commission structures, but recent changes have shifted investor preference towards cheaper passive options, particularly following the Retail Distribution Review and Consumer Duty regulations.

With passive funds outperforming most active funds over the past 15 years, and the growing influence of large US companies in global indices, Dampier anticipates significant consolidation within the active management sector.

Behind the Headlines: FCA consolidation review is a ‘wake-up call’ for buyers and sellers

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced a review of consolidation in the advice market, which has become increasingly relevant amid recent activity.

As firms seek to sell before anticipated capital gains tax increases, the FCA warns buyers and sellers to ensure rigorous due diligence and regulatory compliance. The review aims to assess the suitability and financial soundness of acquisitions, stressing that poor practices could harm consumers.

Experts suggest that this is a timely move for the FCA, given evolving market dynamics and the need for updated guidelines.

‘Selling your advice firm should be the last option’

Advice firm owners should consider selling their businesses as a last resort, said Roderic Rennison from Catalyst Partners during a recent session at Money Marketing Interactive.

He advised exploring alternatives like management buyouts (MBOs), employee ownership trusts (EOTs) or family succession before deciding to sell. Rennison highlighted the importance of having a written growth strategy and warned that the sale process involves more than just the transaction itself.

Integration challenges post-sale can impact staff morale and deferred payments, making careful planning essential.

A COUPLE have revealed how they moved into a 50ft narrow boat to save thousands on rent – but are now being hit by a catch.

Alternative-living lovers Danni and Joe moved into a 50ft narrow boat to save thousands on rent but upcoming changes are likely to make their lives a lot more expensive.

The couple bought their canal boat after selling their previous mobile home – a sprinter van – for £12,000 and have been living in it for three months.

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They’re currently cruising just outside of London, having made their way from the West Country into the city.

Last year, they posted a video about the savings they were making since opting for a life on water.

But they just warned potential boat-buyers that new Canal and River Trust (CRT) surcharges will increase from April next year.

These are a set of fees for anyone living on canals across England and Wales.

This means anyone on a continuous cruiser, as opposed to someone who is permanently moored, will be paying a surcharge of up to 75 per cent.

“If you’re moving onto a boat to save money then you need to know this,” Danni said.

For boats with a beam over 2.16m a surcharge of 10 per cent will be applied and for boats over 3.24m this will be an extra 20 per cent.

Danni and Joe said their first license cost them £886.31 but this has since increased to £1065.79.

From April there will be a new license price, which they said will cost about £200 more a year.

When the couple bought the dilapidated boat over a year ago they were expecting their lives to be a whole lot cheaper.

But they quickly discovered that the “boat-life” was far more expensive and complicated than they had anticipated.

Firstly, the renovation project cost between £15,000-£20,000.

Despite having some money left over from the sale of their van, they said they were living “pay cheque to pay cheque” in order to make it liveable.

One of their biggest challenges to date, the couple said, was when the boat’s battery died and they didn’t have a generator.

“When our battery died we couldn’t use our washing machine,” Danny said.

“You have to take your big bag of clothes along the tow path [to the launderette] and sometimes it’s raining but you need clean pants,” added Joe.

Another thing they hadn’t accounted for were the number of logs and amount of coal they would need to keep them warm during the winter months.

One bulk bag of logs set them back £120.

“You may get this cheaper somewhere else but we don’t have a car in London,” Danni said.

Whilst bulk buying is more financially-savvy, she added, it can be a logistical pain.

“You need to work out how to get it to the boat,” she laughed.

As for gas on the boat, the adventure-loving couple said they get through a cannister a month, which costs about £50.

Although this could be cheaper if Danni had fewer baths or Joe cut down on baking, they said.

“We’re gas hungry,” they joked.

Canal boats vary in prices and can cost anything from £30,000 to way over £100,000. For a narrow boat that is fully-equipped and electric it could cost as much as £200,000.

This comes as Wayne Aspland and his partner, Angela Hughes, moved out of their home to live on their very own narrowboat.

According to this couple though, they saved a fortune, having bought the boat for just £17,000 on Facebook Marketplace.

In 2000, when the brilliant Ian Taylor and Mike Howard were launching Transact and giving advisers control like never before, the other end of the tech market saw another iconic and much-loved innovation rolled out: the Nokia 3310.

Over the next few years, 126 million of the wonderful things would be shipped to a generation of Snake addicts, who still hold it in cultish affection long after it was laid to rest in 2005.

That something could be game-changing in 2000 and obsolete in 2005 goes to show just how rapid the speed of innovation within consumer technology is.

Here’s another example. Back in 2010, less than 1% of the global population had an iPhone. By 2023, over half the planet (4.3 billion) owned a smartphone of some kind. It’s a feverishly rapid tech adoption that has reshaped nearly every aspect of our lives.

I’d go so far as to say the infrastructure of our market falls drastically behind that of nearly any other

Here in our market, however, that speed of change is nowhere to be seen.

Our world has transformed since 2000 but the software that underpins advice has barely changed at all. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that the infrastructure of our market falls drastically behind that of nearly any other.

A Nokia 3310 in an iPhone world

Why are we so behind the curve? Well, ours is a long-term industry, with a complex series of interdependencies between market participants. And at the heart of it all are financial planning professionals themselves, cleaning up the mess.

One of the unintended consequences of planners being generally excellent at what they do – building and maintaining great client relationships – is that the providers they rely on are shielded from rising customer expectations.

Like all things interconnected, our market is only as strong as its weakest link. Sooner or later, one of them will break…

Advisers bear the brunt of customer interactions. They soften the blow of poor technology – explaining, excusing and generally covering for the failings of others. They act as the valve in a creaking pressure cooker that’s well overdue its service.

But it can only go on like this so for long. Like all things interconnected, our market is only as strong as its weakest link. Sooner or later, one of them will break…

Gradually, then suddenly

The wealth management industry is on the cusp of massive transformation. An iPhone moment, you could call it.

The pressure that has been building over the last five to 10 years – gradually – can no longer be contained. The tipping point has been passed. The creaking infrastructure is about to break – to be replaced by a new operating system that can cater for the radically evolving expectations of today’s (and tomorrow’s) financial consumers.

As Hemingway’s character responded when asked how he went bankrupt: ‘Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.’

Financial planning, its infrastructure, delivery methods and economics will all change, creating both opportunity and jeopardy in equal measure. No more compromise, less analogue and less requirement for high tech costs.

As Hemingway’s character responded when asked how he went bankrupt: ‘Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.’

As with all predictions, I’m bound to be wrong about plenty. But of one thing I’m pretty sure. Things are going to look very, very different quite soon.

David Ferguson is chief executive officer at Seccl