Waitrose could make 6% of its sales over the internet by the end of this decade, its managing director has said. Mark Price has also predicted that 20% of grocery sales could be made online by in the long-term.
Price told the Telegraph: “At the moment, 2% to 3% of food retail is online but it is much higher in other sectors and, inevitably, food will go that way.” He says that currently online food sales are rising by between 20% to 30% a year, and, “we want as much market capacity as we can possibly grab.” The supermarket’s products are sold over the internet both through online grocer Ocado and its own website, Waitrose.com.
Sales have been growing quickly in recent months. According to Kantar Worldpanel figures, the supermarket is currently showing strong growth. In the 12 weeks to August 5, Kantar figures showed that Waitrose sales rose by 7.4%, ahead of rivals including Asda (6.2%) and Sainsbury’s (4.6%). It seems that online sales are foremost in helping to power that growth. In the week to August 25 alone, Waitrose reported 49% growth in sales through the Waitrose.com channel.
