Ocado Share News (OCDO)

LONDON, Aug 17 (Reuters) - The proportion of Britons buying
groceries online dipped to 20% in the 12 weeks to Aug. 8, the
lowest level seen since October last year, as shoppers returned
to stores, market researcher Kantar said on Tuesday.
It said the share of grocery sales made online was 13.0%,
down from a peak of 15.4% in February.
Take-up of online grocery shopping grew rapidly during the
COVID-19 pandemic, but as lockdown restrictions have loosened a
divide is beginning to emerge.
"Those who have come to love the convenience of an online
shop are sticking with it, ordering regularly and spending on
average more than two-thirds of their total grocery bill online.
But the unconverted are starting to drop away, preferring to get
back to store instead," said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and
consumer insight at Kantar.
This shift away from online contributed to Ocado Group Plc’s
sales falling by 0.7% year-on-year over the 12 weeks,
its first decline on record, Kantar said, though it noted that
sales were up 44.4% compared with 2019.
Market leader Tesco Plc was the best performer of
Britain's big four grocers, with sales down 1.8%.
Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Asda's sales
fell 2.6%, 4.7% and 6.2%, respectively.
Total UK grocery sales were down 4.0% over the 12-week
period year-on-year and down 0.5% over the latter four weeks,
reflecting strong growth in last year's lockdowns.
Grocery sales were 9.9% higher, however, in the latest 12
weeks compared with the same period in 2019, before the pandemic
started to impact trade.
Kantar said consumers made an extra 108,000 shopping trips
in the latest four-week period versus last year, while average
basket sizes were 10% smaller.
It said grocery prices rose 0.4% in the four-week period.
“Although relatively low, this four-week level of inflation
would still add 19 pounds ($26.29) to the average household’s
annual grocery bill," said McKevitt.
"It’s expected that inflation will rise again in the coming
months, and as a result we’ll likely see shoppers seeking to
tighten the purse strings and save where they can."

Market share and sales growth (%)
12 weeks to 12 weeks to % change in
Aug. 8, 2021 Aug. 9, 2020 sales

Tesco 27.2 26.6 -1.8
Sainsbury's 15.2 14.9 -2.6
Asda 14.2 14.3 -4.7
Morrisons 10.0 10.2 -6.2
Aldi 8.2 7.9 -1.3
Co-operative 6.6 7.1 -10.5
Lidl 6.1 5.9 -2.1
Waitrose 4.9 4.7 0.6
Iceland 2.3 2.4 -8.7
Ocado 1.8 1.8 -0.7
Source: Kantar

($1 = 0.7226 pound)

(Reporting by James Davey in London
Editing by Matthew Lewis)