According to a recent YouGov survey, the UK’s online grocery market has failed to ‘lift off’ and still lags behind the traditional trip to the supermarket. So, how do you like to shop for your groceries?
As I confessed back in March, I’ve never done an online grocery shop. I’ve got easy access to all manner of supermarkets and convenience stores, both near my home and at work. And, quite simply, I enjoy the experience.
Shopping experience
Perhaps it’s because I worked in a supermarket in my late teens and early 20s, but for me, nothing beats mooching around the aisles.
I enjoy looking at the new goods on offer, selecting my own products, assessing their freshness and, best of all, sifting through the reduced products section.
If I’m in my hometown, I’ll probably have to add on at least 10 minutes to my shop as I’ll invariably bump into someone I went to school with, which obviously warrants a catch-up natter. Escalate that to half an hour if I’m with my mum, who is guaranteed to get talking to old school friends/former colleagues/relatives I’ve never heard her mention before.
Supermarket sweep
According to a YouGov survey, it’s a similar story for the majority of shoppers, with more people using bricks and mortar supermarkets over online stores.
The findings tally with recent Office for National Statistics data that found only 6% of total UK grocery sales are made online.
So what’s the reason for the lack of enthusiasm? Well, there are actually a few. Almost 57% of those surveyed said they did not trust the quality and freshness of products bought online, while 71% said they would prefer to touch before they buy.
More than half of non-online shoppers (51%) say they enjoy going to a supermarket, while 34% believe they would miss the social contact involved in a trip to the shops.
A good number of shoppers, both of bricks and mortar supermarkets (38%) and online stores (35%), said additional delivery costs were too high. While others (19%) believed that the delivery times were inconvenient.
Shopping habits
So what would it take to change our shopping habits?
Maybe it’s tackling the ever-mysterious world of substitutions (remember the order condoms, receive a pregnancy test convo?) or, for me a gripe I personally have is that most sites seem to have a minimum spend, which can vary from £25 to £60. Get that down to a fiver, or at a push, a tenner, and cut the delivery costs, and I reckon a few more people might be persuaded. Probably not me, though.
How do you prefer to buy your groceries?
A trip to the supermarket (77%, 931 Votes)
A mixture of both (16%, 193 Votes)
Online (7%, 84 Votes)
Total Voters: 1,208

Do you do your grocery shopping online? If not, what is it that puts you off? What would it take to persuade you to change your habits?