Online now accounts for 14% of total grocery market spend in the UK, according to data from Nielsen.
In the four-week period to 11 July, online sales grew by 115% compared to the same period last year.
The research firm said that online adoption has steadily grown as the summer has progressed – it accounted for 13% of the market in the previous four-week period, and 10% in May 2020.
Overall total till sales growth for the four-week period stood at 10%, with a number of categories seeing a spike in sales.
Sales of Beers, Wines and Spirits grew by nearly a third (31%), while the Frozen category rose by 31% and Meat, Fish and Poultry was up 15%.
Looking at the previous 16-week period, meanwhile, Nielsen said that UK shoppers spent a total of £49 billion on groceries, tobacco and general merchandise, which is up £3.2 billion on the same period last year.
Moreover, it said that 47% of this incremental spend during the lockdown period was at convenience stores.
Planned, Precise, Predictable Spend
“The lockdown was a period of planned, precise and predictable spend, as shoppers focussed on stocking up on the necessities - often buying more than was essential to ensure against any perceived threat of shortage or inability to go shopping," commented Mike Watkins, Nielsen’s UK Head of Retailer and Business Insight.
"Following the reopening of pubs and restaurants on 4th July, the economy is now fully open for business and we are waiting to see how shopping behaviour will evolve.”
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
