Pandemic saw surge in online food shopping and takeaways, analysis shows

Online grocery shopping and ordering takeaways soared during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new analysis.

Research from Food Standards Scotland (FSS) found online food shopping rose in value to £951 million in 2021, an increase of 109.4% compared to 2019.

The takeaway and delivery market also grew considerably over this time, rising to a value of £1.5 billion – an 88% increase between 2019 and 2021.

FSS used data provided by market research company Kantar to develop four reports providing an overview of what people in Scotland bought from shops and supermarkets and from out-of-home businesses between 2019 and 2021.

The research found that overall, people continued to buy more groceries in 2021 when compared with before the pandemic, equating to 140 extra calories being bought every day for everyone in Scotland.

Alana McDonald, senior public health nutrition adviser at FSS, said: “The pandemic has had a huge impact on our lives, and these new reports provide a valuable insight into how consumer purchasing has been impacted in both retail and the out-of-home food environment.

“Whilst there have been some positives, such as an increase in the amount of fruit and vegetables we bought, we have also seen a rise in unhealthy food behaviours.

“For example an increase in discretionary foods, (such as biscuits, cakes and savoury snacks), which continue to account for 20% of calories in our shopping basket – takeaways are also on the rise.

“This may not be surprising as respondents’ motivation for health as a reason for what we choose to eat has also declined since 2019, accounting for just 24% of our meal occasions in 2021.”

FSS said many discretionary food categories, such as confectionery, sweet biscuits and sugary drinks, continue to be top contributors to the calories, fat and sugar bought from shops and supermarkets in Scotland, and these types of categories are also purchased frequently on promotion.

The ability to order deliveries using food technology such as restaurant web and third party apps such as Just Eat or Deliveroo played a key role in the growth of the takeaway and delivery market, it said.

The research found the value of the total out-of-home market in Scotland was £3.6 billion in 2021, an increase of 21% compared to 2020 (£2.9 billion), but still 22% below the value for 2019 (£4.6 billion).