The number of shoppers who said they planned to buy from the online stores of Kmart,Big W,JB Hi-Fi,Target and Myer fell compared with the previous quarter. Online spending intentions overall have also weakened,with the average consumer expecting their spending will fall over the next 12 months.
Despite this,e-commerce giant Amazon appears to have increased its influence in the online grocery market compared with pre-pandemic. The number of shoppers who said Amazon was their primary retailer for buying groceries online increased to 9.4 per cent from 8.9 per cent pre-COVID. The number of shoppers intending to buy from Amazon in the next year also increased compared with the second quarter of 2023.
The number of shoppers saying they primarily shop online at IGA also increased to 3.3 per cent from 2.4 per cent pre-pandemic. Wesfarmers’troubled e-commerce platform Catch had gains too,with 4.1 per cent of consumers saying the brand was their primary e-commerce grocery retailer,compared with 3.6 per cent before COVID.
Coles and Woolworths continue to dominate the grocery market online and in-store,but the number of shoppers who say they primarily shop online with either of the two major supermarkets has decreased since before COVID-19.
44.7 per cent of consumers said they mainly shop online with Woolies,compared with 45.4 per cent before the pandemic,while at Coles this figure was 28.8 per cent,down from 30.8 per cent.
The numbers come as competition forbudget groceries continues to intensify,and Amazon has saidit’s seen good traction in its non-perishable grocery categories and for the company’s “subscribe and save” offer for repeat purchases of home and beauty items.