According to the ranking of the 10 leading markets for what concerns online grocery sales drafted by IGD, not only is China the current leader in the sector, but it is also set to quadruple the value of this segment in the next five years, thus distancing other countries such as the UK and the US.
According to the report, sales in China reach $41 billion ($15 billion in the UK and 12 in Japan).
By 2020, they should reach $178 billion, while the UK and Japan will only reach $28 and 22 billion respectively.
The growing trend in China is faster for a number of reasons - first of all, an increasing number of people can now access the Internet and smartphones are becoming more and more popular.
In addition, the Chinese are earning more in a country where groceries are often seen as accessible luxury items. Last but not least, there is something that only happens here - unlike other countries, in China the majority of the sales are done by "pure" digital platforms, i.e. ones that do not have a chain in the real world. This is the case of Tmall, part of Alibaba, and JD.com. These were created online, whereas elsewhere it was existing supermarkets that developed online stores.
The other top 10 countries are also growing (although at a much slower rate), but there is a difference. While in China we have pure virtual shops, something new is being developed elsewhere - new ways of delivering/collecting items purchased online.
The UK is the second largest online grocery sale market, with 27% of consumers stating that they buy online at least once a month and 11% saying it is the main way they shop. Over there, the click&collect formula is getting increasingly popular. The opening of more and more "collection points" enables the reaching of remote areas with customer retention in mind. Last week, Asda, one of the leading supermarket chains in Britain, opened its first 24-7 automated collection point in Haydock. This concept may soon be copied also by competitors such as Walmart.
