A record of 5.9 million people in the UK acquired groceries online in October, according to the most recent figures released by Kantar.
The analysis also discovered that eCommerce grocery sales reached the highest ever level in Wales the week after the nation’s brand-new Covid-19 lockdown came into effect last month, making up 16.2% of the marketplace. This finding suggests online food shopping might surge in England during November, as an outcome of the four-week nationwide lockdown which entered into force last week.
Kantar in addition revealed that total take-home grocery sales increased by 9.3% in the 12 weeks to 1 November 2020, although no considerable spike was observed in the final four weeks of the duration, in spite of the intro of brand-new lockdown restrictions during October.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, commented: “While there was some uplift in Wales, the increased spending did not provide any evidence of stockpiling, and initial figures suggest no sign of panic buying in England either. However, something is constantly front of mind at this time of year –– Christmas –– and it appears many individuals looked to get ahead with present purchasing before shops closed. In between Monday-Wednesday last week, the three days before extra nationwide constraints were presented in England, toy and entertainment stores took more than double their share of pre-Covid footfall, and buyers rushed to gift stores and fashion merchants.”
In Nielsen’s analysis of grocery store sales published today, it recorded an 87% rise in online sales in the four weeks ending 31 October. This is an outcome of clients continuing to restrict their in-store visits, which were down 12% year-on-year.
The market research firm also discovered that overall UK supermarket sales rose by 6.9% in the 4 weeks, with an increase of 7.2% recorded in the final week as customers gotten ready for the new four-week lockdown.