- Those who’ve already bought groceries over the Internet are generally happy and want to order again online
- Households with children in particular like buying groceries online
- Consumers value large online selection, but want more organic and sustainable products
The sale of groceries via the Internet is picking up speed: Almost every third person in Germany (29 percent) has bought groceries online in the last 12 months. This was established by the market and opinion research institute YouGov at the end of November on behalf of eco – Association of the Internet Industry. Around 35 percent of Germans even think that, in 2025, more groceries will be bought online than in local shops. Today, households with children are already making above-average use of the opportunity to order groceries online.
Most people were happy with their online grocery purchases. The majority of people who have bought groceries online in the last 12 months would like to do so again: 54 percent say they want to buy groceries online in the near future. Among those who have not bought groceries online in the last 12 months, the equivalent is only 7 percent.
Room for improvement in the area of sustainable products
“Customers appreciate the convenience with which they can access a huge assortment online and compare prices,” says Prof. Dr. Georg Rainer Hofmann, Leader of the Competence Group e-Commerce at the eco Association, and Director of the Information Management Institute at the University of Applied Sciences in Aschaffenburg. There is still room for improvement in the area of sustainable products: Only 30 percent of Germans find that they have a greater choice of sustainable products or organic food on the Internet than at local retailers. Close to one in two (47 percent) does not think that the online selection of organic food is larger.
The data used are derived from an online population representative survey by YouGov Deutschland GmbH, in which 2,037 people in Germany took part between 23.11.2018 and 26.11.2018. All of the above figures are based on this sample.
