Millions of Brits have made the permanent switch to ordering groceries exclusively online since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, new figures have revealed.
According to new consumer trends data from Barclays – which combines hundreds of millions of customer transactions to provide a detailed view of UK spending – the pandemic and ongoing cost-of-living crisis have had a significant impact on consumer behaviour and how the public are spending their discretionary income.
Three years on from the start of the UK’s first lockdown, on 23rd March, the high-street bank found that there has been a surge in demand for meal-box subscription services – which came as a result of long supermarket queues and a shortage of grocery delivery slots.
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Three years later, Brits have become even more reliant on the ease and convenience of pre-prepared meal services. Almost half (46%) of those who signed-up to pre-prepared meal-kits, and 35% who started using make-your-own meal-kit subscriptions during the pandemic, now spend more on these services each month than they did during that period.
Before March 2020, only 10% of grocery shopping was conducted online – this figure rose to 16% during the lockdowns and has now settled at 13% (Feb 2023 data). Indicating that many more have made the change permanently, compared to visiting stores or using Click and Collect for their weekly shop.
Furthermore, of the 53% of Brits who have used Click & Collect, one in three (31%) now use it less regularly than they did during the pandemic, compared to just one in five (19%) who have increased the number of orders they choose to pick up in-store.
Takeaway spending also grew during the pandemic, but half (52%) of consumers who ordered takeaways at the time now spend less on takeout food than they did during that period, with 25% reporting they now spend significantly less.
Additionally, the data from Barclays found that specialist stores like butchers, bakeries, independent and convenience shops saw large growth due to consumers shopping closer to home. In 2020, this resulted in the convenience category being up by 28.6% compared to 2019.
However, now that almost seven in 10 (68%) shoppers say they are looking for ways to reduce the cost of their weekly shop amid the cost-of-living crunch, Brits are increasingly prioritising lower prices over their desire to shop locally.
Three in 10 (30%) of these shoppers are buying from larger supermarkets because prices tend to be lower than in independent shops, and nearly a quarter (23%) has shifted their spending because larger stores tend to have more options when it comes to budget and value ranges.
“From ‘insperiences’ to online fitness, the pandemic shaped and accelerated several notable shifts in consumer behaviour,” head of Barclaycard payments, Marc Pettican said.
“However, the cost-of-living crunch is slowly unpicking some of these trends as Brits have had to become more selective about how and where they shop.
“For example, the boom in takeaways has tapered off, as has spending at local independent stores, as consumers continue to look for ways to cut costs to help make ends meet.”
Pettican added: “What is positive though is that the entrepreneurial spirit we saw during the pandemic still lives on, with over a third of those who started a small business or side-hustle in the past three years even managing to turn it into their main source of income.”
The research comes as parents across the UK are calling for supermarkets to do more to prevent the cost-of-living crisis damaging children’s health, as millions face an increasing struggle to afford food this winter.
