Internet food sales value trend annually in the United Kingdom (UK) 2010-2022

In 2022, the online food market showed a 13.3 percent sales plunge in the United Kingdom (UK). This was the biggest decline in over a decade, and it also marked the ultimate end of unprecedented e-commerce growth resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Monthly data from the second half of 2022 aligned with this trend and showed that the share of food retail sales made online plateaued at around nine percent.

Fewer consumer goods in the shopping cart

Rampant inflation and a general economic recession together with a return to brick-and-mortar changed the online spending intentions of buyers. Only one-fourth of UK consumers intended to purchase fast-moving consumer goods like groceries and household goods online. Nearly one in two users favored electronics, while clothing and footwear came third in the ranking of product categories bought on the internet.

Grocery delivery against the clock

When the purchase decision is made, some grocery products are still preferred over others due to delivery conditions. Shipping timing plays an important role in grocery shopping, as it affects the quality of delivered fresh products. About two-thirds of UK shoppers would buy frozen products and dry goods, leaving perishables near the end of the wishlist. A surprising 30 percent of UK shoppers claimed their groceries did not arrive fresh enough, the third-most common cause of a negative shopping experience in 2022.