Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food revenue in the United Kingdom 2011-2023

Food and drink is not only the largest manufacturing sector in the UK but also the single largest employer. The retail side of the business is one of the major contributors to the country’s economy accounting for as much as 217.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, a number which is expected to increase marginally to almost 224 billion by 2023. The industry is highly saturated and consolidated, with Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons and Aldi accounting for over 70% of the total revenues. The presence of Aldi in this list makes this statistic particularly interesting signalling the growing strength of deep discounters including Lidl, as they continue to eat into the share of legacy players.

Online grocery shopping gathering momentum

Online food shopping has gained significant traction not only in the UK but also in many other countries around the world. In fact the country had the highest online grocery share of 7.2% in the European Union (EU) in 2017-2018, followed by France (5.6%), the Czech Republic (3.2%), Netherlands (2.6%) and Spain (2.3%). Strong internet and smartphone penetration coupled with fast-changing consumer preferences are the key factors driving the online grocery market.