Sainsbury’s says it is now number two in the UK’s online grocery market, with more than 165,000 orders placed on sainsburys.co.uk every week. That level of orders equates to revenues of more than £750m a year which, says Sainsbury’s, puts it second in the market.
Currently Tesco is believed to lead the online grocery market, though the retailer does not publish its order numbers or turnover from ecommerce in its financial results. Sainsbury’s claim to be the second largest would appear to mean it has overtaken rival Asda, online if not in total sales. The latest Kantar Worldpanel figures, for the 12 weeks to February 19 2012, showed Tesco had a 29.7% share of the UK’s grocery market, followed by Asda with 17.5% and Sainsbury’s with 16.6%. Morrisons, according to the figures, had 12.2% and Waitrose 4.5%.
The supermarket says its current level of weekly orders represent a 20% rise, year on year, and says it has been driven by “industry-leading customer service.”
Jon Rudoe, director of online at Sainsbury’s, said: “Thousands of new customers are choosing Sainsburys.co.uk each week because it’s simple to use and like our stores, people are assured of the service they’ll receive.
“We’re proud of our successes so far, but it doesn’t stop here, we’ve got ambitious growth targets which we’ll reach by continuing to delivery the best possible experience for our loyal and new customers.”
As well as groceries, Sainsbury’s also sells general merchandise, from home and garden to entertainment, over the internet. Its Click & Collect service now allows customers to order online by 2pm for next-day collection from more than 900 supermarkets and convenience stores.
