2026
9
UK Online Grocery Retailing Market Report 2026
2026-03-31T16:02:08+00:00
REP1E6A1D46_671D_4D0C_AA1D_46671D2D0C39
2195
192399
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Report
en_GB
The UK online grocery market has moved beyond its pandemic surge into a stable phase of everyday use. Valued at £27.1bn in 2025 (12% of total grocery sales), it is…
UK
Food and Drink Retail
eCommerce
simple

UK Online Grocery Retailing Market Report 2026

"UK online grocery is firmly established, with growth driven by evolving convenience, technology and mission-led fulfilment."

Michael Oliver, Senior Retail Analyst

Michael Oliver, Senior Retail Analyst

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  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    • What you need to know
    • Outlook for online grocery retailing – UK
    • Opportunities
    • Use meal planning features to boost basket sizes
    • Trust gives retailers the upper hand in rapid delivery
    • AI chat turns convenience into a competitive lever
  2. THE MARKET

    • Snapshot – market size and forecast
    • Consumers and the economic outlook
    • Social trends continue to underpin online grocery demand
    • Political and regulatory pressure is reshaping how online grocery operates
    • Technology is the main enabler of scale, efficiency and differentiation
    • Social media is pulling grocery discovery into the scroll
    • From pandemic boom to stable growth
    • Online grocery market settles into a more stable growth phase
    • Graph 1: online grocery retailing share of all grocery sales, 2019-25
    • Market size and forecast of online grocery retailing
    • Supermarkets take majority of online grocery sales by store-based retailers
    • Graph 2: online grocery market segmentation, by retailer type*, 2019-25
    • Home delivery still anchors online grocery, but its dominance is softening
    • Graph 3: online grocery retailing market by channel, 2023-25
    • A market fragmenting by mission and fulfilment
    • Tesco stretches market leadership
    • Graph 4: online grocery retailing market shares (est), 2021-25
  3. THE CONSUMER

    • Online grocery is mainstream, but unevenly embedded
    • How UK shoppers use online grocery
    • Who online grocery works hardest for
    • Graph 5: online grocery shoppers by key demograpic groups, 2025
    • Routine pressure matters more than digital confidence
    • Fulfilment is a widening spectrum
    • Home delivery still anchors the channel
    • Rapid delivery is reshaping the mix
    • Graph 6: usage of delivery methods, percentage point change, 2024-25
    • Usage of rapid delivery providers
    • Graph 7: retailer-run grocery delivery usage, 2025
    • Graph 8: rapid delivery platform usage, 2025
    • Trust gives retailers the edge in rapid delivery
    • Online grocery serving broader household missions
    • Convenience is shifting from speed alone to basket usefulness
    • Helping shoppers do more in one place
    • Create comprehensive, mission-driven solutions for households
    • Shoppers will trade speed for a better overall basket
    • Win-win for grocers and platforms
    • Online grocery shopping with AI
    • Momentum building in conversational commerce
    • AI interest signals appetite for support, not automation
    • Graph 9: interest in using AI tools to shop directly via a rapid delivery service, by generation and income, 2025
    • From AI features to supported shopping routines
    • Turn the weekly shop into a supported routine
    • Opportunities in meal kits
    • Core shoppers of meal kits mirror online grocery demographics
    • Graph 10: key demographics of food/recipe/subscription box shoppers, 2025
    • Integrate meal kits into the weekly shop
    • Use meal solutions and personalisation to drive inspiration
  4. INNOVATION AND MARKETING

    • Store-based online grocers respond to rapid delivery growth
    • Integrating loyalty and broadening access
    • Third-party platforms reposition as logistics partners
    • Platforms expand into adjacent retail categories…
    • …supplying health, beauty and gifting items
    • Deliveroo expanding rapid delivery into planned food occasions
    • Advertising and marketing
    • Ocado links groceries to life moments
    • HelloFresh’s “Bring Back Dinnertime” campaign reframes convenience away from speed and towards emotional and cognitive relief
  5. APPENDIX

    • Market definition
    • The market
    • Forecast methodology
    • Forecast methodology – fan chart
    • Online grocery retailing’s share of grocery sales continues to grow
    • Market size of online grocery retailing, by segment
    • Market size and forecast for online grocery retailing
    • Market size and forecast for online grocery retailing – store-based players
    • Market size and forecast for online grocery retailing – online-only operators
    • Market forecast and prediction intervals
    • The consumer
    • Consumer research questions
    • Consumer research methodology
    • UK generation groups
    • Leading retailers – revenue
    • Leading online grocery retailers, by revenue
    • Smaller online players, by revenue
    • Other data source methodologies
    • Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
    • Abbreviations and terms

UK Online Grocery Retail Market – Trends and Insights

  • The UK online grocery retailing market has moved beyond its pandemic surge into a stable phase of everyday use. Valued at £27.1bn in 2025 (12% of total grocery sales), it is now a mainstream channel shaped by routine time pressure rather than emergency adoption. Steady 4-5% growth reflects how firmly online grocery is embedded in busy household lives.
  • One of the clearest consumer signals is how expectations of convenience are changing. Around 65% of online grocery shoppers say they would accept slower rapid delivery if it meant access to a wider, more useful range. This challenges the idea that speed alone drives value and highlights a growing focus on basket completeness and relevance.
  • This shift marks a clear change in industry dynamics. Online grocery is increasingly mission-led, with shoppers switching between full shops, mid-week top-ups and rapid orders depending on need. Growth now depends on how well retailers support everyday household tasks such as meal planning, restocking and last-minute fixes, rather than simply expanding online access.
  • The biggest opportunity lies in helping households do more in one place. Clearer navigation, stronger cross-category relevance and curated mission-based bundles can lift frequency and engagement. The main risk is failing to meet rising expectations around reliability and ease, which could limit online grocery’s role as a core household utility.

This Report Looks at the Following Areas:

  • Online grocery has moved beyond its pandemic surge and is settling into steady growth driven by time pressure rather than emergency adoption
  • Profitability is under strain as retailers juggle rising fulfilment costs with heightened consumer price sensitivity
  • Rapid delivery is shifting from a distress solution to a routine part of everyday grocery missions
  • Regulatory pressure around HFSS, pricing transparency and sustainability is tightening operational constraints
  • Technology investment, from automation to AI and micro-fulfilment, is becoming a key source of competitive advantage
  • Usage is led by busy families and higher-income households, not simply younger or more digitally confident shoppers
  • Supermarkets are reinforcing their leadership while platforms pivot towards logistics and Amazon renews its push into ultra-fast delivery

Market Definitions

This report includes both online retailing market and consumer data around the retailing of grocery products online.

Our market size for online grocery includes:

  • Major grocers’ online sales of food and drink and other grocery products.
  • Online-only grocers’ sales (eg Ocado)
  • Specialist food and drink retailers’ online sales.
  • Online-based food box and recipe box delivery schemes.

It excludes:

  • Foodservice delivery (eg restaurant or fast-food takeaways ordered online). However, grocery delivery via predominantly foodservice platforms (eg Deliveroo) is included.
  • Home delivery of groceries not ordered online.
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