June 27 2008

Discount retailers see online shopping boom

The offline grocery market is stalling and online grocery shoppers are turning to retailers who focus on price and value, according to figures from Nielsen Online

Visits to value retailers' web sites, such as Aldi, Lidl and Netto, have soared by between 30 and 40 percent year on year while offline sales growth was up 6.6 per cent year on year and in the four weeks to June 7, volume growth as low as 0.5 per cent was tracked.

Visits to Morrisons' website have increased by 59% and to Asda's website by 48% year on year in the three months to May 2008.

Nielsen retailer services senior manager Mike Watkins said: "Food inflation is running at 6 per cent so, in real terms, the industry has ground to a halt."

Watkins added “We are seeing more consumers shopping online for their groceries and more people using online sites to search for offers and compare prices before shopping.

“Anecdotal evidence suggests that shoppers are buying groceries online because it helps in managing their shopping budget by reducing wasteful purchasing and removing the temptation of excessive impulse buying which can occur in the in store environment.

“Our latest numbers suggest that planning food shopping and reducing waste is becoming the reality for shoppers.”

Visits to grocery retail websites

Monthly unique visitors and year-on-year change Source: Nielsen Online

March-May 2008

1. Tesco 5.41m +9.5%
2. Asda 1.72m +48%
3. Sainsbury 1.19m +21.3%
4. Aldi 0.48m +39.2%
5. Lidl 0.45m +35.8%
6. Waitrose 0.37m +7.6%
7. Morrisons 0.22m +58.9%
8. Ocado 0.18m -12.1%
9. Netto 0.11m +33.8%
10. Iceland 0.09m +28.8%

by Marcus Austin (Web Editor)