Tesco.com topped the ranking of online grocery stores in the United Kingdom, generating an estimated 4.58 billion U.S. dollars in e-commerce net sales in 2024. Sainsburys.co.uk ranked second, with 3.8 billion U.S. dollars in online grocery sales. Online grocery market in the UK After skyrocketing into double-digit figures during the pandemic, the online share of food sales in the United Kingdom has stabilized post-pandemic. As of December 2024, approximately nine percent of all food retail sales were made online. Compared to the pandemic peak of 12 percent in January 2021, demand for online grocery in the UK has not waned and remained robust despite the return of in-store shopping. Online grocery shoppers In March 2024, a fifth of the UK population was purchasing food and drink online, a figure eight percentage points lower than the e-commerce penetration rate achieved at the height of the pandemic in March 2021. However, current penetration rates in the food and beverage e-commerce market are markedly higher than pre-pandemic. UK online shoppers were the most frequent buyers of fresh food and beverages online among their European counterparts in 2022.

Online grocery shopping has become increasingly popular among shoppers since the COVID-19 pandemic, which spurred consumers to purchase their supermarket goods through the internet when faced with lockdowns and stay-home advisories. In 2021, the online food and grocery sales in the United Kingdom amounted to about ** billion British pounds. That figure was forecast to increase to nearly ** billion by 2025. Post-pandemic slowdown despite new shopping habits While online grocery still is expected to generate billions in revenue, growth of the market is set to slow down significantly. As official regulation surrounding the pandemic has ended, the high demand for online grocery ordering has lowered in turn. However, many consumers in 2022, particularly those of higher ages, still cited that avoiding crowds and risk of infection at physical stores was a strong reason for ordering their groceries online. Another popular reason for online grocery shoppers was due to having no time to go to the store themselves. Not the perfect alternative While saving time and avoiding crowds are pros to buying groceries on the web, there are also inevitable cons with this method of grocery shopping. A 2022 survey revealed that too many substituted items, not being able to find suitable delivery times, and un-fresh groceries were the most common negative aspects to online grocery shopping in the UK. These factors may be part of why nearly ** percent of shoppers bought their groceries primarily in-stores, and only partially online.

In the United Kingdom, Millennials are the most eager to buy their groceries online. According to a survey carried out in the second quarter 2023, ** percent of consumers in the country aged between 27 and 42 years old would buy grocery products mostly via e-commerce. Gen Z followed, as ** percent of the generational cohort preferred shopping for their groceries mostly online.

High demand during the lockdown following the COVID-19 outbreak caused the online food and grocery market penetration to nearly double between 2019 and 2021. However, as the situation has returned to normal, this growth has slowed. In 2022, the percentage of users purchasing food and groceries online was **** percent, a decrease compared to the previous year.

The share of food retail sales made online in predominantly food stores in Great Britain saw its biggest growth in January 2021, when the coronavirus (COVID-19) containment measures were tightened in the United Kingdom. Since then, the proportion of online food retail slowly decreased and then remained stable at around nine percent in March 2025.

According to a study conducted in 2022, UK consumers saw no difference in the value for money when shopping for groceries online versus in-store. When it came to food selection, consumers preferred online grocery shopping, with **** percent of respondents reporting that online was much better. In comparison, the overall shopping experience of in-store grocery shopping was more popular than over the internet, with **** percent of respondents reporting that offline grocery shopping experiences were much better than online.

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 ** 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 ** percent. Going head-to-head at roughly ** percent of the market each, Sainsbury’s and Asda ranked second and third, respectively.

According to a survey conducted in 2022, nearly four out of three online grocery shoppers in the UK spent on average between ** and 100 British pounds a week on these purchases. That year, only ** percent of British grocery shoppers spent more than 100 pounds per week on these products.

In the United Kingdom, consumers mostly bought their groceries in stores. A survey conducted in the second quarter of 2023 revealed that while 36 percent of UK shoppers purchased groceries online, nearly 50 percent preferred to shop mostly in person.

On average, a ******* of global shoppers were purchasing groceries online on a monthly basis in the second quarter of 2023. The United Kingdom had the highest share of monthly online grocery shoppers, at ** percent, followed closely by the United States at ** percent. In contrast, only ** percent of Polish respondents reported shopping for groceries online on a monthly basis.

According to a 2022 survey, the most common negative experience among online grocery shoppers in the United Kingdom was that there were too many substituted items, with **** percent of respondents reporting such. In addition, over a third (**** percent) of UK e-grocery shoppers' main problem with online grocery shopping was not being able to find a suitable delivery slot.

As of May 2025, the number of people ordering groceries through online platforms has reached around *****million in the UK, representing a *****percent growth from the previous year. The average spend per user is ******U.S. dollars. Further information can be accessed on Statista Market Insights.

Revenue from online grocery retailers in the United Kingdom reached a peak of almost ** billion pounds in 2021. This figure is forecast to drop slightly in 2022, with a market size by revenue of **** billion pounds.

According to a 2022 survey, nearly ***** in *** online grocery shoppers in the United Kingdom made these purchases via mobile phones. Desktops were the second most-used device, with roughly ** percent of respondents reporting to have used their desktop computers to buy groceries online.

Despite the increase in online grocery shopping in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2022, the majority of UK grocery shoppers were doing this activity primarily in-store and partly online. That year, only *** percent of consumers surveyed reported buying their groceries solely online.

********************* and ************* are the top two answers among UK consumers in our survey on the subject of "Groceries & beverages purchased online by category".The survey was conducted online among 2,389 respondents in the UK, in 2025. Looking to gain valuable insights about grocery store customers across the globe? Check out our reports about consumers of grocery stores worldwide. These reports offer the readers a comprehensive overview of grocery store customers: who they are; what they like; what they think; and how to reach them.

In the United Kingdom, men were more likely to buy their groceries online. According to a survey carried out in the second quarter 2023, ** percent of male consumers in the country would buy grocery products mostly via e-commerce. In comparison, ** percent of women preferred shopping for their for groceries mostly online.

In the twelve months ending June 2018, the United Kingdom (UK) accounted for a share of *** percent of global online grocery sales, followed by France at *** percent. The eastern European country of Czechia surpassed other Western European markets such as the Netherlands and Germany to come in third in this ranking.

Online grocery sales in the UK

When it comes to the development of the online grocery sales market and the online sales value of food stores, the UK is a European leader. Despite this, online sales were still the smallest sales channel compared to sales of groceries in hypermarkets and supermarkets in the UK in 2016.

Traditional grocery stores

While the UK leads Europe in online sales of groceries, it has the smallest trade share of traditional grocery stores in Europe. Unsurprisingly countries such as Greece, Italy and Spain still have larger trade shares for traditional vendors. However, what is surprising, is that Spain also has a relatively large share of the worldwide online grocery market.

The online food and grocery shopping market in the United Kingdom recorded an annual decrease of ** percent in 2022. That is well down on the previous year when e-shopping for food and groceries rose to popularity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A slight increase in growth was forecast for 2023 as UK consumers become accustomed again to buying groceries online again.

We asked UK consumers about "Online grocery & beverage shopping by store brand" and found that ******* takes the top spot, while *********** is at the other end of the ranking.These results are based on a representative online survey conducted in 2025 among 2,389 consumers in the UK. Looking to gain valuable insights about grocery store customers across the globe? Check out our reports about consumers of grocery stores worldwide. These reports offer the readers a comprehensive overview of grocery store customers: who they are; what they like; what they think; and how to reach them.