Boom time for grocers – but online and convenience stores are the big winners

Britain’s grocery market has endured a shake-up through the pandemic. Some of the changes will stick, writes James Moore

The grocery market has boomed with people confined to their homes (Reuters)

There’s never been a national shopping basket like the one researcher Kantar has just turned the spotlight on. The grocery market has boomed with people confined to their homes, but within it there have also been some signifiant shifts.

Some of the numbers, which are based on the purchasing habits of 30,000 demographically representative households across Britain, are quite stunning.

The humble corner shop? It’s turned into something more like a Silicon Valley tech unicorn. Over the 12 weeks to 14 June sales through this channel, independents and those part of networks such as Spar, surged by 69.3 per cent.