Influence of COVID-19 on online grocery shopping in the United Kingdom 2021

When asked in 2021 whether they would continue shopping for food online once the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has subsided, an estimated third of consumers in the United Kingdom stated they would, but not as frequently. Just under a fifth of UK shoppers had no intention of buying groceries on the web post pandemic.

Online grocery shopping habits in the UK

Ever since the coronavirus crisis first took off in early 2020, it affected many UK consumers in the way they usually bought groceries. Some started stockpiling hygiene products, while others had their supermarket necessities delivered to their doorstep in order to avoid the crowds. By May of that year, over 30 percent of shoppers in the UK stated they had increased their online shopping activity for groceries. Some of the grocery items most purchased by UK shoppers on the web were alcoholic drinks and chilled foods.

What are some of the biggest grocery stores in Great Britain?

In Great Britain, there are many grocery stores that make up a fair chunk of the market, including Aldi, Waitrose, Iceland. In the past few years, however, Tesco was and has remained the unequivocal leader, accounting for a market share of just under 30 percent. Going head-to-head at roughly 15 percent of the market each, Sainsbury’s and Asda ranked second and third, respectively.