A study conducted by Italian consumers association Altroconsumo has named Conad as the best online supermarket in Italy.
The survey examined the nine main supermarket chains and e-commerce portals in Italy, including such as Carrefour, Conad, Coop, Esselunga, Lidl, Amazon (Pantry and Prime Now), Cicalia and Glovo.
Altroconsumo placed 33 orders in four major cities (Rome, Milan, Naples and Bari) and two provincial ones (Turin and Padua), opting for the home delivery service for all orders.
As prat of the study, the group analysed the assortment, the speed of delivery and compliance with the times indicated, the separation of the different types of products (such as frozen food, fresh food and detergents), the cost and method of returning products, and the sustainability of the packaging.
Top Score
On the retail side, Conad achieved the maximum score for assortment, delivery, return cost and sustainability of used packaging, including the use of compostable envelopes.
Amazon Prime Now, which emerged as the best in the e-commerce category, stood out for its assortment and return and refund service. However, it has a limited reach, being present only in Milan and Rome.
Esselunga distinguished itself for its range and return costs, followed by Carrefour, which received top marks for assortment, delivery and return cost.
Next in the ranking were Amazon Pantry and EasyCoop, which obtained low ratings due to the cost of returning items and the unsustainable nature of its packaging. Below that were Glovo, due to its limited assortment, and Lidl, whose products are delivered via Supermercato24.
Online Growth
Despite having a low value market (€646 million, compared to over €30 billion for e-commerce), the online grocery sector in Italy achieved the strongest growth in 2019 (+39% compared to +15% for the wider e-commerce sector), based on eCommerce Observatory B2c data.
An estimated 68.5% of Italians are currently able to do their supermarket shopping online, compared to 64% two years ago.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
