Three-quarters of UK consumers use the

internet for grocery shopping

Groceries are the third most popular category bought online, after travel and books
Almost half of all UK consumers look for grocery shopping deals online
Contact: Neil Beston, Tel: 020 303 3!"!
#$N%$N & ' No(em)er 202 Three-quarters !" percent# of UK consumers use the $nternet for
household grocery shopping activity according to a study released today from %ielsen, a leading
global provider of information and insights into &hat consumers &atch and buy'
The ()*( %ielsen Global +urvey of ,igital-s $nfluence on Grocery +hopping surveyed more than
(.,))) $nternet consumers in /0 countries' $n the UK, it reveals that saving money is a ma1or factor
&hy consumers go online for grocery shopping almost half ". percent# look for deals, 2) percent
go to coupon &ebsites and (/ percent compare prices' Among those looking for grocery coupons,
more than a quarter (0 percent# do so on a daily basis'
3ritons are more likely to use the $nternet for saving money on groceries than 4uropeans as a
&hole5 "2 percent of 4uropeans look for deals online, &hilst (( percent look for coupons'
6opularity of buying groceries online
7ore than a quarter (! percent# of online 3ritons intend to buy food and drink products online in
the coming months making groceries the third most popular category in the UK behind travel
bookings 2) percent# and books, ne&spapers and maga8ines (. percent#' T&o years ago,
groceries &ere the seventh most popular category' 4ven today across 4urope, groceries are still
only the t&elfth most popular category'
Grocery shopping research and time
Almost half "! percent# of 3ritons online use the $nternet for grocery research, such as checking a
price or reading a consumer revie&' Among this group, one in five (* percent# does this every day'
%ielsen UK head of retailer insight 7ike 9atkins: ;Grocery shopping and the $nternet go together
like bread and butter for three-quarters of 3rits' $t sho&s 1ust ho& a&are supermarkets and brands
need to be about ho& it impacts their bottom line not 1ust in &hat products people buy, but the
prices they pay and &here they get them from'
;<ne in every *) 3rits online uses the &eb for grocery shopping research every day, &hile eight
percent visit a coupon site daily for grocery deals' The gro&th in smartphones and apps makes this
easier than ever' =etailers cannot ignore trends such as that'>
%early half "0?# of UK consumers &ho buy or research grocery shopping online say the $nternet
no& accounts for at least one-quarter of their total online and offline grocery activity time5 (!
percent say online no& accounts for at least half their total grocery activity time'
9hat-s impacting grocery buying@
<ver the last year, the rise in food prices has been the biggest factor determining &hat grocery
brands and products 3ritons have purchased' This is follo&ed by increased transportation costs (!
percent#, health reasons and retailer loyalty programmes both (* percent#' The availability of self-
service checkouts has had a ma1or impact on the grocery choices of *. percent of 3ritons online'
9atkins continues: ;Three of the four biggest factors impacting &hat people have bought over the
last year relate to cost, &hich reinforces the price sensitivity of 3ritons &hen it comes to grocery
shopping' +o, &hile much has been made about fitness and &ellbeing in this, an <lympic year,
3ritish shoppers are as likely to make purchase decisions based on retailer loyalty programmes and
the use of coupons and vouchers - available online or via their smartphones - as they are on &hat-s
best for their health'>

*)out the Nielsen +lo)al ,ur(ey
The %ielsen Global +urvey is conducted every quarter and polls more than (.,))) online
consumers in /0 countries throughout Asia 6acific, 4urope, Aatin America, the 7iddle 4ast, Africa
and %orth America' The results in this release are from the spring ()*( &ave, &hich focused on
,igital-s $nfluence on Grocery +hopping' The sample has quotas based on age and seB for each
country based on their $nternet users, and is &eighted to be representative of $nternet consumers and
has a maBimum margin of error of C)'0?' This %ielsen survey is based on the behaviour of
respondents &ith online access only' $nternet penetration rates vary by country' %ielsen uses a
minimum reporting standard of 0) percent $nternet penetration or *)7 online population for survey
inclusion' The %ielsen Global +urvey &as established in ())/'
*)out Nielsen
%ielsen Doldings %'E' %F+4: %A+%# is a global information and measurement company &ith
leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media
measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade sho&s and related properties' %ielsen
has a presence in approBimately *)) countries, &ith headquarters i