The great online grocery shopping boom is here to stay as 90% of Brits plan to keep shopping for their groceries online once the peak of COVID-19 passes. Meanwhile, just 5% of shoppers say they are planning to stop doing so, according to a survey conducted by Mintel.
An impressive three in five (59%) Brits are online grocery shoppers, up from 50% in 2019 – this represents the highest level of growth recorded in the past decade***. In addition to user growth, the category is experiencing increased usage from existing users, with over half (53%) of online grocery shoppers doing more shopping through the channel as a result of COVID-19. Less than one in ten (7%) current online grocery shoppers had not used the online channel before the pandemic, rising to 14% of over 65s.
Mintel forecasts Brits will spend £19.4 billion on online grocery shopping in 2021, a decline of 13% compared to 2020, as the market rebalances following extraordinary demand during the pandemic. However, the online grocery market is expected to get a ‘legacy boost’ from the pandemic: Mintel forecasts the market will be worth £22.4 billion by 2025 – a £4.9 billion increase over pre-pandemic forecasts.
Nick Carroll, Mintel Associate Director of Retail, said: “We’re witnessing a step-change in online shopping engagement caused by the pandemic, as evidenced by the vast majority of consumers who plan to continue online grocery shopping once we’re past peak-COVID.
“The pandemic has created new models for buying groceries online and it’s not just the core ‘big-basket’ online grocery services that will benefit from this boost. The explosion of new rapid-delivery businesses has finally created an online ‘small-basket’ option for customers, while subscription services and meal-kit providers have hit all-time sales highs. Alongside this, greater engagement in social media commerce has opened up new opportunities in direct-to-consumer, with grocery manufacturers cutting out retailers and selling directly to consumers. So not only have new shoppers been enticed into buying their groceries online as a result of the pandemic, but in the future there will also be a broader range of online grocery shopping opportunities.
“The next few years will, however, also be a period of rebalancing as consumers reassess what circumstantial behaviours from 2020 they will stick with, and retailers decide what aspects of their rapid scaling of online operations are sustainable long-term. Indeed, managing heightened online demand, while simultaneously encouraging some shoppers back into stores, will be a delicate balancing act for retailers. Click-and-collect will play a crucial part as the bridge between retailers’ digital and physical customer base.”
