The electronic supermarket container is shrinking as consumers order fewer products in response to price increases, just as they do when they visit a physical store.
Simultaneously, the share of private-label products is increasing, and consumers are increasingly selecting them when purchasing from online supermarkets.
However, it is important to note that despite the fact that there are no longer any restrictions due to Covid-19, the sales of online supermarkets are holding steady (in real terms and excluding inflation), indicating that continued investment in this category of stores is a one-way street for businesses in the organized food retail industry.
Since the average price of each product has also increased by 10%
According to information released by Convert Group on Thursday, the turnover of electronic supermarkets during the first quarter of 2023 was 76 million euros, a 10% increase over the same period in 2022.
This amount excludes the participants in so-called “quick commerce” (grocery delivery in less than 60 minutes), namely BOX, eFood Market, Instashop, Pop Market, Rabbit, and Wolt Market, players who, according to Convert Group, are steadily gaining market share in Greece.
In contrast, the sales generated by Sklavenitis, AB Vassilopoulos, MyMarket, Masoutis, Kritikos, Thanopoulos, and e-fresh.gr through their cooperation with the aforementioned platforms are included. However, in some circumstances these partnerships are essential to the success of electronic sales. A typical example is efood’s exclusive partnership with Sklavenitis.
The price increases have resulted in a 9 percent increase in orders due to the ease with which consumers can conduct market research when shopping at online supermarkets; however, the number of products purchased by consumers is progressively decreasing.
Therefore, in January the average electronic basket contained 33,1 items, in February it contained 32,8 items, and in March it contained 32,2 items. In January-March 2023, the number of items in the average basket decreased by 10% compared to the previous year.