Online buying habits surprise

trolley, online, iconWhile Coles and Woolworths are pushing the benefits of online grocery shopping, Roy Morgan Single source e-commerce data shows more Australians buy alcohol online than groceries.

The data shows that less than 1 in 50 people purchase groceries online each month.

Last year, just 1.9 per cent of Australians (around 357,000) did some supermarket shopping online in an average four week period, up from 1.6 per cent (294,000) in 2012.

In comparison, 2.2 per cent of Australians (426,000) bought alcohol online, although this is only up 0.1 percentage point since 2012.

Warren Reid, group account director, consumer products at Roy Morgan Research, said that given the supermarket industry is five times the size of the alcohol market, intuitively you would think supermarkets would have more online customers.

Roy morgan groceriesThe grocery industry is valued at more than $95 billion annually from around 12.5 million customers, compared with almost nine million alcohol buyers spending $17 billion a year.

“Both Coles and Woolworths have been trying to build their online operations for more than ten years. But despite internet usage and online shopping becoming mainstream, online supermarkets still attract only a tiny proportion of grocery shoppers,” said Reid.

“One challenge for online supermarkets is that there are two very dissimilar customer types most inclined to buy groceries online and have them delivered to the door – stay at home mums with young children, or high earning professionals and managers.

“The key to online success for both Coles and Woolworths will be to extend the appeal of website ordering and home delivery to a wider customer base of people for whom regular online grocery shopping could be a valued convenience rather than a necessity.”

Those most likely to purchase alcohol online are 35 to 49 year olds are the most likely to buy alcohol online, while 25 to 34 are the most likely to buy groceries online.

According to Roy Morgan, comparing the age demographics of the two markets reveals a marked dissimilarity – one in two online alcohol buyers are aged over 50, however, this group comprises just 24 per cent of online supermarket shoppers.

The reverse is true of 25 to 34 year olds, who make up more than double the proportion of grocery buyers than they do alcohol buyers.

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