Online market share soars, with 35.2% of Western European consumers buying groceries online

In 2021, the global grocery market grew by 2.1% , with online grocery/FMCG sales growing by more than 15% . It is understood that the average growth rate of the global grocery market before the epidemic was 2%, which means that the market growth pace is basically stable, but the growth rate obtained through online channels is soaring .

E-commerce is the fastest-growing channel in the global grocery market, increasing by 15.8% on top of the 45.9% growth in 2020. This growth has increased the online grocery market share from 4.8% in 2019 and 6.3% in 2020 to 7.2% in 2021 .

The online grocery market in Western Europe fell by 0.2%, mainly due to the gradual lifting of the epidemic blockade in the region, which allowed consumers to return to physical stores . Latin America achieved 9.2% growth in 2021, mainly driven by inflation and continued epidemic blockades, while the US online grocery market grew by 2.7%.

Supermarkets and hypermarkets remain the main sales channel for fast-moving consumer goods, but their performance is poor compared to other channels, with a growth rate of only 0.1%.

Groceries purchased through promotions accounted for 21.6% of sales in 2021. This is higher than 20.9% in 2020, but still not back to the pre -pandemic level of 22.1% in 2019. Industry insiders said that this high share of the market has been divided up by online channels and it is difficult to return to previous high levels.

Beverages were the strongest growth sector in the grocery market at 2.9%, driven by sports and energy drinks and carbonated soft drinks. Food (excluding dairy) grew 2.5%, with home care falling back to 1.1% growth and health and beauty products growing just 0.7%.

According to Kantar's forecast , the growth of the global fast-moving consumer goods market will slow down to 1.3% in 2022. Although the growth of major channels has slowed down, it is expected that due to changes in consumer habits, online channels may surpass hypermarkets or various supermarkets to become the preferred consumption channel.

It is understood that Asia currently accounts for 45% of all online fast-moving consumer goods sales , almost twice the online grocery sales in the United States or Western Europe. However, the speed of catching up of the two latecomers, the United States and Western Europe, should not be underestimated. Changes in technology and consumer concepts will drive e-commerce in these two markets to advance at an astonishing speed.

Nearly 40% of consumers used e-commerce platforms to buy groceries in 2021, up from 37% in 2020 and 31.6% in 2019. The average online shopping trip per year was 10.4 in 2021, compared to 8.7 in 2020 and 6.9 in 2019. 35.2% of consumers in Western Europe purchased groceries online.

As many traditional out-of-home activities remain at a standstill, consumption has shifted online, with the online channel growing three times faster than the next largest channel. This can be attributed to both the increase in the number of consumers using online grocery shopping and the increase in their shopping frequency.

Online shopping has become a general trend. Currently, various regions are actively developing e-commerce. Sellers can target the market, make good product and platform choices, and attack accurately.

Online Grocery

USA

Western Europe