One of the main reasons cited by consumers for doing grocery shopping online is that of convenience, with more than 30 percent of Germans and Italians agreeing that shopping for groceries online takes less time than shopping in-store. In Europe, online grocery shopping is gradually gaining pace, where the United Kingdom is the leading market with 6.9 percent of global online grocery sales, followed by France with 5.3 percent. There has also been the introduction of purely online retailers, such as Amazon Fresh, while some physical retailers have been slower at venturing into the digital world. In the Netherlands, for instance, 59 percent of all online grocery shoppers shop at Albert Heijn. Elsewhere in Europe, online ordering is not as popular: 62 percent of respondents in Norway could not imagine using a home delivery service for groceries. Perhaps there will be a shift in attitude but, nevertheless, a substantial portion of young European consumers are reluctant to make the break from their usual grocery shopping routines.
Another popular trend is that of meal kits, delivered in the form of subscription boxes by the likes of HelloFresh, which reached over 22 million European deliveries in the second quarter of 2016. Indeed, HelloFresh has made a huge impression on European consumers, with 82 percent of Dutch respondents aware of the brand. In a recent survey, 72 percent of Italian respondents had eaten chilled meal kits and well over half of respondents in all the countries surveyed had tried them too. Curated food boxes give consumers the chance to try out new cooking trends and ingredients, particularly in the case of younger consumers who may not be as confident in their cooking skills, as well as being fun and enjoyable.
The takeaway market can be broadly divided into two categories: typical takeaway services and the more recently introduced restaurant delivery services, such as Lieferando and Foodora. The fastest growing market for takeaways can be found in the United Kingdom with a CAGR of five percent forecasted between 2014 and 2019, followed by Spain. The main barriers to use are prices, as well as a lack of variety and promotional offers.
