Almost one in five UK adults say they do all of their grocery shopping online, according to new research.
The study, from afiliate network Awin, polled 2,485 UK residents over the age of 18, split evenly between three age groups – 18 to 34, 35 to 54 and 55+. It found that 18% said they bought all of their groceries online, while 20% said they had never bought groceries online.
Of those that bought all of their groceries online, 44% were aged over 55, 34% were aged 19 to 34, and 22% were in the 35 to 54 age bracket. When asked why they did so, 24% said it was more convenient, 18% said it was physically easier and 14% said it was easier to track their spending.
Of those who had never bought online, 31% said they liked to go to the store and see the range, and what’s on offer, 21% said they weren’t home often enough to collect a delivery and 17% did not trust product freshness.
Between the two extremes, 33% of respondents said they regularly shopped online, and 29% said they did so only infrequently.
Most of those who bought groceries online said they did so using a laptop (62%), while a mobile phone (18%), desktop computer (14%) and tablet (6%) were also used. When asked if they would be happy to allow a delivery driver to drop their shopping off in their home while they were awa, 42% said they would be happy, while 58% said they would not.
When asked if they did their weekly shop with the same supermarket, either in-store or online, 65% said they did so, citing price (34%), quality of product (28%) and offers and discounts (19%).
Looking to the future, respondents were asked if they thought supermarkets would eventually sell only online. Most (86%) said they did not, but 14% said they could see that happening.
Claire Mullan, head of marketing at Awin, said: “The world is becoming increasingly reliant on ecommerce and consumers are adjusting to this. Whilst there is still a way to go before the majority of people shop for groceries online, it’s encouraging to see the loyalty amongst those who do.”
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