Online sales from supermarkets fall back slightly as shoppers return to stores

But this was balanced by an increase in in-store sales, which rose to £7.7bn in the same period.

The fall in online sales was from £1.2bn in the same period last year to £1.1bn in 2021.

Nielsen added that although online sales fell they were still 12.7% of the total amount spent on groceries, close to the 13.4% in May 2020, at the height of lockdown.

Mike Watkins, NielsenIQ’s UK head of retailer and business insight, said: “Shoppers seem more confident in visiting stores, which has had an impact on online grocery.

“However, the decline in online sales was expected as it is largely due to shoppers no longer needing to make such large shops as lifestyles finally started to normalise.

“What is important is that despite there being a lack of new online shoppers over the last 12 weeks, existing online shoppers are staying – just spending differently.”