Argos has beaten its rivals to become the UK’s first retailer to offer customers who order via safe shopping online the opportunity to have their items delivered on the same day, according to the Mirror.

While Amazon has integrated same-day delivery in London and Birmingham, Argos is the first firm to take this scheme nation-wide, meaning that the Fast Track option will be available for many more customers that pass through its online checkout.

Fast Track is actually a three-pronged service, which means that customers can either collect items in-store, or have then sent out for delivery on the same day or the day after. And 800 of Argos’ bricks and mortar locations are participating in the scheme.

Collection is, of course, free of charge while same-day delivery costs £3.95 on top of the price of the product. And this is sure to be seen as a relatively small price to pay by those who do not want to head out to their nearest store in person.

There are four different delivery slots to choose from, with the latest being between 7pm and 10pm, so people can pick a time which suits their schedule. It should also be noted that this is arguably more convenient than other sites offering safe shopping online, which do not have a slot system of this kind.

More than three thousand new drivers have been hired by Argos to cope with the delivery demands which are expected. The retailer has rolled out this same-day delivery service just in time for the Christmas period, when many other retailers set a hard limit on the point at which the final orders can be placed before the big day. And it now seems likely that rival retailers will be forced to launch their own same-day delivery services to compete.