Online grocery sales to hit £11.2bn by 2016
The value of online grocery sales is set to double to £11.2bn by 2016, according to industry body IGD, fuelled by consumers’ increasing willingness to shop online.
The online market is projected to grow to 6% of all grocery sales by 2016, up from the 3.8% predicted for 2011.
IGD found that 44% of consumers intend to shop online for groceries in the next five to ten years, compared to 17% that do now.
The big four supermarkets have all ramped up their ecommerce platforms this year in anticipation of a drift online. Morrisons in particular has been gearing up for a push with the acquisition of US online grocery network FreshDirect.
Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive, IGD, says: “A digital explosion is taking place and technology is advancing in leaps and bounds. Just in the last twelve months we’ve seen an array of innovations in the online arena and we expect this to continue”.
IGD interviewed 170 food and grocery manufacturers in September for the survey.
