Quarter-to-quarter, online searches for groceries have increased by 108 per cent (2.7 million between January to March to 5.7 million between April and June) and now represent 12 of the top 50 most popular search terms , new research has revealed.

The research also found that everyday essentials now account for 20 per cent of all online shopping searches.

The figures from Criteo which analysed more than 100 million online searches, showed a clear shift in online consumer shopping habits when it comes to fresh groceries.

With shoppers now able to rely on supermarkets and other suppliers for faster, more accurate delivery options, online fresh produce shopping is more convenient than ever before. As a result, searches for milk, bread, cheese and eggs all increased in the second quarter of the year with those must-have items now comprising 20 per cent of the top 10 most searched-for terms.

In the UK today, 40 per cent of all online grocery purchases are made on mobile phones and overall, seven per cent of all grocery shopping is now done online.

Ben Cooper, managing director, Europe, Criteo Sponsored Product, said: “Grocery shopping is reaching digital maturity at an incredible rate. The speed at which shoppers are using search as a discovery tool for their online grocery shopping is quickly starting to reflect more established retail segments.

“This means that retailers and marketers must adapt the ways in which they’re engaging these customers. Milk and bread will always be common purchases but the increase in searches online for these items points to a clear shift as online convenience starts to rival that of offline supermarket shopping.”

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