Internet food sales value trend annually in the United Kingdom (UK) 2010-2021

In 2020, annual internet food sales of stores which predominantly sold food in the United Kingdom (UK) grew in value by 80.7 percent. This was the highest growth rate in the sector for the period in consideration, directly a result of the lockdown measures introduced to tackle the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. When we take a closer look on online sales growth of food stores in 2021, we can see that after the beginning of the year, the average weekly sales growth slowed down.

Food store retail sales

Food stores sold about 158 billion British pounds worth of products in retail in 2020. This was a slight decrease compared to the prior year. Overall sales of food stores grew slowly during the preceding years. In comparison, they were lowest in 2013.

Who buys online groceries?

Women were more likely than men to buy groceries online. About 14 percent of female shoppers and 13 percent of men had bought food or groceries online in 2020. Purchases of groceries only was most common in the 45 to 54 age group.