Despite the difficulty for retailers to fulfill online grocery orders worldwide, Amazon is aiming to step up its grocery business in the United Kingdom.
Amazon is preparing to launch the “Ultra Fast Fresh” grocery delivery service in the U.K., according to Reuters. U.K. trade magazine The Grocer cited Amazon suppliers who wished to remain anonymous.
The new service aims to bring rapid grocery delivery to nearly 40 percent of U.K. households by the end of this year. Amazon would retrofit nine existing depots within the country to handle fresh products, Reuters said.
Other major U.K. retailers are aiming to boost their online grocery sales as well. Aldi UK started selling groceries online for the first time on 17 April. Its packages of 22 essential products includes a 4-pack of Tuna Chunks in Brine.
In the United States, online grocery ordering and demand remains so high that Amazon had to temporarily waitlist new Amazon Grocery customers.
U.S. online grocery ordering will continue to grow rapidly in the second quarter, Business Insider Intelligence discovered. Forty-three percent of U.S. consumers will use online grocery by the end of June 2020, the research firm said.
"As consumers stay home and governments increasingly push for consumers to avoid contact with others, online grocery services' near contactless nature will likely entice more consumers," BII Research Analyst Daniel Keyes said in a press release.
Grocery delivery and pickup will become more attractive options as grocery chains, including Target and Walmart, are beginning to restrict store traffic, “meaning consumers may have to wait in line outside before being able to shop in-store,” Keyes said.
Online shopping recently got a further boost when the U.S. Department of Agriculture expanded the ability of Americans receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to order groceries online.
Arizona, California, Idaho, Florida, Washington D.C., and North Carolina were added to the SNAP online pilot program, which is already operational in Alabama, Iowa, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, and Washington state.
The authorized retailers working with all pilot states are Amazon and Walmart, while Wrights Market and ShopRite are working with Alabama and New York, respectively.
The target start date for the full rollout will be announced at a later time, USDA said in its release.
Image courtesy of Business Intelligence Insider
