Online grocery shopping is in retreat as consumers steadily return to pre-pandemic habits

Grocery sales have slid as customers retreat from online shopping. They have tumbled by 4pc over the past three months as shoppers continue to steadily return to pre-pandemic habits, according to figures from Kantar. 

The data firm found that sales declined for the 12-week period to August 8, against the same period in 2020, although the decline slowed down to 0.5pc for the last four weeks of the quarter. 

Waitrose was the only major grocery retailer to deliver sales growth over the 12-week period, with a 0.6pc rise in activity. Morrisons saw the largest decline of the ‘big four’ supermarkets, with a slump of 6.2pc. Asda sales dropped by 4.7pc, while Sainsbury’s reported a 2.6pc decline in total sales, Kantar said. Tesco was more resilient, with a 1.8pc decline. Ocado sales dropped 0.7pc, impacted by the reduced demand from online shopping.