Picnics and barbecues spur grocery sales as shoppers enjoy the sunny weather

Online sales have seen a staggering 91 per cent increase over the past month as more shoppers turn to the internet to avoid supermarket queues and social distancing rules.

Take-home grocery sales rose by 14 per cent year on year in the 12 weeks to June 14.

Despite the strong rise in online sales, Kantar said there are signs of a gradual return to normality as 19 million more supermarket trips were made in the most recent four weeks compared with May.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “The boost has been led by online sales, which have continued to accelerate, and convenience stores, which took £1.6bn through their tills during this period.

“A lot of people have learned how to do online shopping. I don’t think it’s going to remain at the high level it is, but retailers have now put the infrastructure in place.

“A lot of people like going to the shops. They enjoy the experience.”

Kantar said grocers are navigating a steep drop in the amount of food and drink bought on the go, which was down by a third in early June.

Mr McKevitt said on the go sales are down because people aren’t travelling and they are not going to work.

“In April we saw those food on the go sales from supermarkets were down by about 50 per cent,” he said.

“In the latest data they are down by around 30 per cent year on year, so you can see the trend is heading back upwards, but the reality is I don’t think that’s going to get back to where it was for a number of reasons.

“One, people probably aren’t going to go into work as much. Travel is still going to be more restricted than it was and in our data, people are worried about the economic situation.”

Kantar said the huge increase in available delivery slots across the sector meant nearly one in five British households bought over the internet in the month to mid June, totalling 5.7 million shoppers.

The firm said convenience stores have become an increasingly important outlet for shoppers during the lockdown – be they independent retailers, which are growing at 69 per cent, or the smaller formats of major outlets.

Mr McKevitt said: “Convenience stores accounted for 14.7 per cent of all sales in the past four weeks. This is still considerably higher than normal levels, but it has receded from April’s peak of 16.3 per cent.”

While many of the major trends of the coronavirus period continued into June, the relaxing of lockdown rules is starting to ease the market back towards pre-pandemic shopping patterns.

Mr McKevitt said: “We’re still shopping less frequently, but shoppers are gradually changing their behaviour.

“Households made 77 million fewer trips to the grocers in the latest four weeks compared with last year, but that’s still 19 million more than in May, reflecting the slight easing of Government restrictions.

“Once in the shops, customers are continuing to buy more than usual, spending 42 per cent more per trip than in June last year at £26.37 on average.”

As pubs and restaurants remained closed, alcohol sales through the grocers continued to boom, growing 43 per cent in the past four weeks.

Elsewhere, good weather in June and shoppers getting the green light to meet friends and family outside their household meant picnic favourites were in high demand.

Barbecue foods were also popular with burger sales rising 44 per cent and sausage sales up 40 per cent.

When asked about the impact of a reduction in social distancing from two meters, Mr McKevitt said: “I think it’s going to make it a little bit easier to go to the shops which will mean that there will be fewer queues outside.

“We’re likely to see a steady transition away from this way of behaving where people are making considerably fewer trips to the grocers, but when they do go, they are picking up many more items.

“Of course a one meter rule is still a one meter rule and there will still be restrictions on going into stores and how people behave in there.”

Kantar said safety while shopping remains a concern for many. Only 54 per cent of people said they felt safe when visiting a supermarket or a convenience store, with hygiene considerations impacting shoppers’ buying habits.