Britons are starting to shun online grocery shopping after growing tired of missing items, dodgy substitutions, out of date goods, high delivery charges and hefty minimum order requirements, research has found.
More than 60 per cent of people in a survey conducted by Mintel said they experienced some sort of issue with their online food order in the last year.
Between 2016 and 2018, the proportion of people doing their grocery shopping via the internet fell from 49 per cent to 45 per cent.
Tiresome? Britons are starting to shun online grocery shopping after growing tired of some of the common problems that crop up when using
While just over a third of people surveyed aged 45 or over said they had purchased some groceries online, the proportion who admitted they had never shopped for food online rose from 34 per cent in 2015 to 42 per cent last year.
The most common reason for shunning online food shopping was the desire to personally choose fresh produce. Many people are also choosing to support the employees working in their local food store and, where possible, support smaller, independent food shops.
High delivery charges and over-the-top minimum spend requirements are also putting a sizable proportion of people off online grocery shopping, Mintel’s findings showed.
Twenty-six per cent said they had a missing product from their online order in the last year, while a quarter were lumped with inappropriate product substitutions.
In 20 per cent or more of the cases surveyed, shoppers ended up with short shelf life goods, late deliveries or damaged products.
Issues: Nearly 900 people were asked what problems they’ve had with online grocery shopping in the last year (answers by percentage)
Trends: 2,000 people were asked to describe their use of online grocery shopping
Nick Carroll, associate director of retail at Mintel, said: ‘Online grocery is still one of the fastest-growing channels of the grocery retail sector, but growth slowed for the third consecutive year in 2018.
‘The number of users is plateauing as retailers struggle to engage new customers onto services that are still predominantly targeting big-basket shops in a period where more frequent and fluid shopping behaviour has entered the market.
‘Therefore to ensure continued rapid growth there is need for the sector as a whole to evolve the services provided to consumers, to ensure the channel remains relevant in this fast-moving sector.’
In-store choice: The top reason many people choose to shop for their food in a shop is so they can select their own fresh produce
Unappealing: Over 1,000 people were asked why they have never, or have stopped, shopping for groceries online
Tesco was by far the most popular choice for shoppers opting to buy their food online last year, with nearly half plumping for the country’s biggest supermarket.
At Tesco, the minimum basket value for home delivery and ‘Click+Collect’ orders is £40. If the order is less than this, a £4 charge is added to the order.
Tesco has a subscription-based ‘Delivery Saver’ service, where you pay for a month or up to six months of deliveries in advance. Otherwise, delivery can cost between £1 to £7.
Thirty-seven per cent of consumers surveyed did their online food shop at Asda, making it the second most popular supermarket for online orders last year.
Popular: Tesco was the most popular choice for online grocery orders in the last year
Second place: Asda was the second most popular supermarket for shoppers doing their food shop online last year
Provider: Nearly 900 people were asked which provider they used for online food shopping in the last year (answers by percentage)
Asda claims that at £3 a pop every week, shoppers could end up paying £156 a year for their online food orders to be delivered. But, with the ‘Delivery Pass’, which gives shoppers the chance to buy a year’s worth of delivery charges in advance, Asda shoppers can, according to the supermarket, save up to £101 a year.
Twenty-eight per cent of people using the internet to do their food shopping used Sainsbury’s and 20 per cent went for US tech giant Amazon to get their groceries.
Eight per cent opting for high-end Waitrsose for their online shop in the last year, Mintel said.
There is fierce competition between supermarkets vying for the attention of online shoppers and constantly having to up their game to keep up with ever-changing consumer habits.
Trial: Waitrose is testing out a new service where food groceries are delivered into your home by the driver while you’re out
Last year online groceries in the UK hit £12.3billion, up 9 per cent from 2017, and comprised 7 per cent of all grocery retail sales, according to Mintel.
Over the next five years, online grocery is forecast to account for 10 per cent of all grocery shopping, with sales growing by 60 per cent to reach £19.8million in 2023.
Last year, Waitrose announced it was trialling a delivery service that gives drivers access to customers’ homes to unpack groceries while they’re out.
The service called While You’re Away allows a customer with a Yale smart lock to set a temporary access code which is then sent to Waitrose via a secure app.
The code is then sent to the delivery driver’s device on arrival and is deleted once the delivery is complete.
The driver then packs the fridge and freezer and leaves other groceries on the kitchen counter, or any other place the customer asks for.
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