he percentage of households buying groceries online is at its lowest level since October amid the return of pre-pandemic shopping habits, data firm Kantar said on Tuesday.
Kantar’s research showed consumers made an extra 108,000 shopping trips in the last four weeks as the easing of Covid-19 restrictions encouraged more people to venture out.
Just over 20% of the population bought groceries online in the four weeks to August 8, while the web’s share of sales stood at 13% compared with February’s peak of 15.4%.
The shift away from online meant Ocado’s sales fell by 0.7%, its first year-on-year decline on record. But Kantar said the online grocer’s sales were still 44% higher than 2019 for the fastest two-year growth in the industry.
Tesco’s market leading share stood at 27.2% in the quarter, followed by Sainsbury’s on 15.2%. Overall, grocery sales were 4% lower than a year ago, but this decline slowed to 0.5% in the past month and the figure is still 9.9% higher than 2019.
READ MOREMining giant BHP set to scrap dual listing in big shake-upPlus500 shares soar after firm raises earnings forecasts Dear chief executive: welcome to the free marketBRANDPOST | PAID CONTENTHow do we navigate new dating protocols without killing the mood?Grocery prices have been falling since April, but Kantar said the trend reversed in the past four weeks after inflation of 0.4%, equivalent to an extra £19 on the average household’s annual grocery bill.
