Online grocery market in Italy - statistics & facts

Italian consumers are attracted to online grocery shopping as they indicated a higher interest in it than consumers from most European countries. The online grocery market is gradually growing, with the market value of food delivery and online grocery combined is expected to reach nearly five billion euros in 2022.

Role of grocery players

Supermarket chains are the established players able to initiate online grocery growth in a country where four in ten consumers opt for in-store purchases only. Far from being truly omnichannel, grocery retailers partially integrated online services into their brick-and-mortar business. As a result, the e-commerce shares of total fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sales have grown over the last years, although the figure did not go over three percent. Supermarkets and their home delivery businesses populate the top-ranking positions of most-used online grocery stores, challenging the big elephant in the room – Amazon. However, in terms of e-commerce net sales, retailer Esselunga outranks its competitors. In 2023, the pioneer of grocery delivery even launched an additional online store dedicated to wine and spirits, seizing the opportunity of a very promising niche market.

What is in the shopping cart?

Italian shoppers seem to prefer e-commerce when it comes to personal care and pet food – merchandise categories that are easy to handle and deliver. In turn, coffee and tea, as well as rice and pasta, are the most purchased edible grocery categories online. In addition to that, perishables are becoming a sought-after category in Italians’ shopping lists, as the percentage of online shoppers buying fresh food and beverages has more than doubled since 2017.

Delivery models

In Italy, home delivery is the leading reason to purchase groceries online, followed closely by time efficiency in the online shopping experience. However, click-and-collect options are gaining popularity and showing steady monthly growth since April 2023 compared to 2022. This might be an interesting trend for Italian e-commerce companies, which are currently not setting pickup options as their top priority to boost online sales.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Daniela Coppola, Jan 10, 2024

Key insights

Food and grocery online market
4.4bn EUR
Italian consumers planning to purchase groceries online
53%
Online share of grocery retail sales
2.3%
Get more insights

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Market value of e-commerce B2C food & grocery in Italy from 2017 to 2023 (in billion euros)

Online Retail

Market value of e-commerce B2C food & grocery in Italy 2017-2023

Most popular groceries websites in Italy in December 2023, based on share of visits

Reach & Traffic

Leading groceries websites in Italy 2023, based on visit share

Groceries & beverages purchased online by category in Italy as of June 2024

Food & Nutrition

Groceries & beverages purchased online by category in Italy 2024

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Overview

5

Overview

Market trends

4

Market trends

Players

8

Players

Consumption

9

Consumption

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