Asia’s online grocery channel is set to grow by $176 billion by 2022, representing a 194% increase and making it the fastest growing sales channel in Asia, according to research published by international research organisation IGD.
The research claims that online grocery sales across Asia’s 12 largest grocery markets will increase to $267 billion up from the current value of $91 billion, representing annual growth of 24.1% to 2022, compared to annual grocery retail growth of 6.4% over the same period.
Figures provided by IGD suggest that online grocery sales in China will increase to a value of $136.8 billion by 2022, an increase of 31% from 2017, with online groceries accounting for 11.1% of all grocery purchases in the country.
Growth will be most pronounced in markets such as India and Indonesia, which will experience channel growth of 87% and 85% respectively, though logistics issues mean that the market share of online grocery sales will remain small.
However, in China, South Korea and Japan online grocery sales will hold a more pronounced share of the grocery market. The research estimates that online sales will account for 13.6% of grocery sales in South Korea by 2022 compared to 8.1% in 2017, and will account for 9.8% in Japan, compared to 7%.
The channel will also experience rapid growth in smaller nations with developed infrastructure such as Singapore and Taiwan, as online sales will grow 29% in Singapore and 14.9% and in Taiwan between 2017 and 2022.
Shirley Zhu, programme director at IGD, said: “The penetration, size and growth of online grocery varies greatly by country.
“South Korea, China and Japan are leading the way in online grocery shopping and will see the highest sales contribution from grocery e-commerce, while continuing to lead the development in the region.”
“Singapore and Taiwan will also have well developed online grocery channels by 2022, benefiting from existing infrastructure and retailer investment, while in Southeast Asian markets grocery e-commerce, although growing rapidly, is still in its infancy.
“Logistics and payment will be the key barriers to overcome for India and most Southeast Asian countries. Although these markets are expected to have the fastest growth, the market share of online grocery will remain small.”
The growing importance of e-commerce in Asia was demonstrated earlier today, as Unilever agreed a distribution agreement with Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com, allowing JD.com to distribute Unilever products such as Lipton tea in the country.
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