Online share of grocery sales hits record level during third lockdown
The third national lockdown pushed the share of online grocery sales to a record high in January, double the level the previous month.
The pandemic has accelerated the shift to online shopping with Britain’s big four supermarkets expanding their capacity during the crisis.
The online share of grocery sales hit 16 per cent in January, according to data from Nielsen, as consumers ate more at home as cafes, restaurants and pubs were forced to close.
Previous Kantar data showed shoppers spent £1bn more on supermarket groceries compared with the same four-week period last year. The average family has spent £50 or more on groceries.
Tesco enjoyed online sales growth of 80 per cent year-on-year, equivalent to £1bn in extra sales, over the 19 weeks to 9 January. The supermarket said it broke its record for home deliveries and click-and-collect at the start of the year as the demand for online shopping failed to slow down.
Sainsbury’s has seen online sales rise 128 per cent over the year, with delivery splots jumping from 340,000 a week last March to around 850,000 currently.
Asda has also increased its capacity to 850,000 weekly slots and is looking to deliver 1m this year. Sales jumped 76 per cent in the fourth quarter year-on-year.
Morrisons has also had a stellar year, trebling sales in the nine weeks to 3 January across all of its channels, including food boxes, “Morrisons on Amazon” and Deliveroo.
Sales for the supermarket ticked up at the start of the second lockdown, rising further over the festive period as shoppers stocked up on booze and food.