Tesco has opened its sixth dotcom centre, based in Erith, Greater London, which will oversee the delivery of online orders in the area.

In addition to creating around 550 jobs, the company claims the new Erith site will have modern technology and systems to help with procedures, following on from innovations at the Crawley location.

The latest site joins the supermarket chain's previous facilities in Croydon, Crawley, Greenford, Enfield and Aylesford.

Managing director for grocery home shopping at Tesco Simon Belsham said: "We've found that an increasing number of our customers are [using smart devices] for groceries online, so this facility allows us to expand our reach and offer the best possible range and service."

More companies are looking to adopt this type of facility, as internet business increases the need for local delivery services. In October this year, Sainsbury's launched its first 'dark store' distribution centre catering exclusively to online orders.

Similar to Tesco's dotcom centres, this takes the picking of online orders away from actual supermarkets and gives them their own space with dedicated on-site transportation options.