Online sales share in the UK rises, with strong growth in many categories

Recently, NielsenIQ released survey data showing that in the past four weeks ending January 29, total sales of British supermarkets fell 2.9% year-on-year, and the share of online sales increased.

The data shows that although the number of online shopping has decreased by 14% compared with January last year , the number of visits has increased by 12%. Not only that, the proportion of online sales in the UK has also increased in January, from 11.3% in December to 13.1% in January. The peak in January last year was 16.1%, which is still very stable in comparison. In addition, this is the highest sales share since July 2021.

Compared to last year, consumers' shopping habits also changed in January this year. The demand for items commonly used during the lockdown decreased, such as beer, wine and other alcoholic products, which decreased by 14.2%, frozen foods, which decreased by 11%, and packaged groceries, which decreased by 8.3%.

As students return to school and employees return to the office, people 's consumption needs are becoming more "normalized." For example , sales in many areas such as prepared food (+11.1%), health and beauty (+9.4%), pet care (+8%), fresh baking (+4.5%) , and soft drinks have shown strong growth.

This return to normalcy also drove growth in the convenience channel, where sales increased 2.1% compared to the same period last year, with sales of sandwiches up 60%, salads up 29%, and seasoned non-carbonated snacks up 27.5% .

Mike Watkins, director of NielsenIQ, said: "The first few weeks of January are typically the slowest sales of the year , however, online grocery sales have continued to grow in recent weeks , indicating that shoppers are continuing to adopt omnichannel shopping habits. As the convenience of online shopping increases, consumers will be smarter in shopping by looking for lower-cost alternatives to previous shopping lists . "

At the same time, consumers are also faced with multiple problems, such as increasing inflation and concerns about rising living costs, and affordability has become an important consideration for their shopping.

U.K.

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Europe