UK Online Grocery Sales to Double in Five Years

In an article published in the British Newspaper, The Telegraph, Britain’s internet grocery market will double to £9.9bn by 2015, research group IGD forecast. This report corresponded to the report that Morrisons, the fourth largest grocery retailer in the UK, and the only top four not offering online sales, became the latest supermarket to make a move into online sales.

IGD monthly ShopperTrack survey in the UK found that 13 percent of Britons expect to use online grocery shopping more in the next year, rising to 24 percent among the heavy shopping 18- to 34-year olds. The online grocery market, which accounted for 3.2 percent of total grocery spend in the UK last year, is projected to increase to 5.4 percent by 2015, IGD forecast.

This strong growth trend underscores the value of online shopping for the Shopper, Retailer and Manufacturer. For the Shopper, it is about convenience and the ease of online shopping and home delivery or store door pick-up. For the Retailer, it is about controlling costs and minimizing real estate holdings and leveraging the value of multi-channel (online/offline) Shoppers who can be up to 60 percent more loyal to the chain. And, the manufacturer who can stock a virtually unlimited line of products and communicate the brand attributes in a more comprehensive fashion.

This strong growth trend, being demonstrated in the United Kingdom, is a global phenomenon that is reaching into North America and the BRIC countries. It will accelerate as broadband penetration continues to increase and Generation X and Milleniums move into the key grocery buying age group. Remember, these people do not know a time without online buying opportunities.

Online sales is to great an opportunity for all parties not to continue to demand focus and investment.