UK online grocery sales up 25% in April

Online grocery sales slowed significantly in April as physical stores reopened .

Growth in online grocery in the UK slowed to 25% in April from 92% in March, according to new data from Nielsen , although total sales remained stable at 4.6%.

Despite the decline in growth, online grocery sales remain strong, reaching £ 1.3 billion, or 14.2% of total UK grocery sales . While the UK online grocery market may be slowing , exclusive data from Adobe predicts that online sales will continue to grow at an impressive rate to reach $4.2 trillion this year.

Online grocery has seen phenomenal growth over the past 12 months, increasing at a rate of more than 70% per month since the pandemic hit in March 2020 .

But that growth came to an abrupt end , with the sudden slowdown due to the easing of lockdown restrictions and the rollout of vaccines giving consumers new confidence in physical shopping.

Visits to physical stores rose by 3% in the four weeks to April 24 , the first increase in physical traffic in a year, and a significant increase from a 19% fall a month earlier. The significant growth in footfall on physical shopping streets during the month generated £8 billion in sales for UK supermarkets .

Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insights at NielsenIQ, said this was driving growth in product categories hit hard by lockdown. “As lockdown has been gradually lifted and consumers have been given more freedom to socialise and meet up outdoors, categories such as health and beauty, deli and bakery have seen growth in spending over the past four weeks.

As the lockdown is further relaxed in the coming weeks, consumers’ lifestyles will begin to change again . With cafes, bars and restaurants fully open, the UK will see another shift in grocery spending. Jason Woosley, vice president of commerce at Adobe, said: “The changes we are seeing will be passed down from generation to generation.”

April

U.K.

groceries