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Internet food sales soar as belts tighten
Mark Prigg28.10.08
ONLINE grocery shopping has overtaken internet sales of electronic items for the first time, figures show.
Customers appeared to be looking for bargains on essential items such as bread and milk, using supermarket websites for exclusive offers and discounts on delivery, according to the MyVoucherCodes website.
The "top four" online shopping sectors are currently grocery (31 per cent), electronic items (25 per cent), clothing and fashion items (21 per cent) and holidays (15 per cent).
A study of 4,238 consumers by the website found 44.2 per cent shopped at Tesco, 23.2 per cent at Asda and 11.7 per cent at Sainsbury's. The average shopping basket was £53 a week.
Customers in the North-West used online supermarkets the most, followed by those in the South-East and London.
MyVoucherCodes managing director Mark Pearson said: "We were amazed supermarket sales are now beating PCs and TVs when it comes to online shopping, and this is surely down to people looking for bargains in tough economic times."
