Grocery Delivery App Statistics in UK 

The way we grocery shop in the UK will never be the same. Thanks to technological disruption, no longer the reserve of trolleys and checkout queues, the weekly shop for millions of households is just a few taps on a phone.

From Tesco and Sainsbury’s to Amazon Fresh and rapid delivery upstarts, grocery apps have become the go-to channel for convenience, time-saving, and sometimes even slightly lower retail prices.

2025 is fast becoming an epochal year. Use is up, average spend per user has moved, and delivery habits are reshaping how supermarkets serve their customers.

In this blog, we’ll dissect 55+ UK grocery app stats for 2025 – including usage, spend levels, delivery frequency, and market share — and the trends that are shaping the future of food retail.

TL;DR – Key Takeaways

• Some 30m-plus adults are scamping groceries via apps by 2025, with the majority of households on board.
• The average user is spending £82 per month, with basket sizes varying from £22 (top-ups) to £76 (a weekly shop).
• Frequency is up: Households now order an average of 3.4 times a month, with subscribed users ordering close to twice as often.
• Tesco has a 37% market share, followed by Sainsbury’s, Asda, Ocado, and Amazon Fresh.
• Key trends: fast delivery, subscriptions, sustainability, hybrid shopping, and AI personalisation.
• Biggest challenges: logistics costs, labor penetration, retention, and replacements.
• The market is fragmented, leaving room for new entrants and niche apps.

Use of Grocery Apps in the UK (2025)

The UK market for grocery apps has moved from a convenience alternative to a mainstream shopping habit. Millions of homes now regard apps from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Ocado, and Amazon Fresh as their main shopping channels in 2025. The penetration is particularly high in cities, but it is also spreading across rural markets, driven by improved coverage and more reliable delivery.

Here’s a closer look at how Brits are doing grocery and food shopping using apps in 2025:

Total Active Users in 2025

Over 30 million adults in the UK are now regularly using grocery apps. That equates to almost 45% of the UK population, illustrating how digital grocery has become less of an insular category and more a case of “for your everyday”.

Age Demographics

Weekly use is most common among those aged 25–44 (65%). These shoppers are also a bit more pressed for time, have bigger families, and have an interest in paying for some convenience in the form of scheduled delivery or subscription passes.

Household Adoption Rates

72% of the UK have used a grocery app at least once in the last 12 months. This adoption rate demonstrates how grocery apps are now as ubiquitous as banking or travel apps in the lives of consumers every day.

Rural vs Urban Adoption

Urban users still dominate, but rural adoption is growing rapidly. A quarter of rural households used grocery apps in 2025, up markedly compared to 15% in 2022. The gap narrowed as retailers invested in last-mile delivery and logistics improved.

Frequency of Use

Grocery apps have evolved from “occasional helpers” to shopping necessities. Around two-thirds of app users are shopping on a weekly basis and up, with many households doing both scheduled large shops and smaller midweek top-ups.

Multi-App Behaviour

Price sensitivity and convenience push some households to use several apps. 42.6% use two or more grocery apps. Users will typically mix their go-to supermarket app (e.g., Tesco) with a rapid delivery option when in a rush (e.g., Deliveroo Hop).

Device Preference

Smartphones dominate grocery shopping. More than 90% of grocery-app orders will be made from mobile apps, with less than 10% on websites, by 2025. Shoppers also appreciate the convenience of browsing, list-building, and one-click reordering on a mobile-first site.

Peak Usage Times

The busiest time for orders is the evenings, and 7 PM to 9 PM represents almost 38% of all orders. Most families are shopping after dinner and targeting either same-day top-ups or next-day delivery.

Subscription Uptake

Subscription services are emerging as a big market in their own right. 1 out of 5 UK users of grocery apps pays for a delivery pass, which provides access to unlimited delivery slots and discounts on delivery fees, like Tesco Delivery Saver or Ocado Smart Pass.

Grocery App ARPPU (2025)

Grocery app spending patterns in the UK are changing rapidly. “Although a growing number of households are using technology such as apps to shop for food, average basket value and spending habits vary according to the size of the household, where shoppers live, and whether they subscribe to delivery passes. In 2025, we have a combination of continued strong growth in average order size and an expanding gulf between the budget-minded shopper and the premium customer.

Here’s what the numbers reveal:

Average Monthly Spend Per User

The average in-app spend per grocery app user is £82 a month in the UK, but this rises to almost 20% more within London, where groceries tend to be priced higher and premium stores are more accessible.

Average Basket Size

The average cost of each grocery app order is £46 for a basket, which usually contains 20–25 items. Bigger orders typically come from family shoppers who use Tesco, Asda, or Sainsbury’s, while rapid delivery apps deal with smaller, more frequent baskets.

Subscription vs. Pay-As-You-Go Shoppers

Delivery subscribers (Tesco Delivery Saver, Ocado Smart Pass) spend a quarter more per month than non-subscribers. And subscribed members typically make larger, pre-planned purchases for maximum savings.

Regional Spending Differences

City dwellers spend an average of £90 per month, while rural shoppers set aside £70. The divide is partly a question of access: Urban users have a greater variety of apps to shop with and more delivery slots.

Impact of Inflation

The rise of food prices has driven the app spend upward. Average spend per user is running 11 percent higher than in 2023, and essentials like dairy, bread, and produce are seeing the steepest increases.

Repeat Purchases & Reordering

Around 60% of customers are in the habit of reordering the same basket or products on a weekly basis and place faith in app-based “favourites” lists for simplicity and consistency.

Premium Shoppers

Roughly 15% of British grocery app users are “premium spenders” that consistently spend over £150 per month via apps, often on organic and speciality items.

Also Read:-Food Delivery App Like DoorDash

Delivery Volume & Order Frequency (2025)

One of the most distinct features of UK grocery app behaviour is how frequently people order, and how big their baskets are. Delivery frequencies are up in 2025, thanks to flexible slots and players enabling rapid delivery; however, much bigger basket values still fluctuate based on whether shoppers are doing a full weekly shop or just topping up on essential items.

Here’s how deliveries compare throughout the UK in 2025:

Average Orders Per Household

The average UK household makes 3.4 grocery app orders a month, with city-based households such as those in London or Manchester making closer to five.

Same-Day vs. Next-Day Delivery

Grocery app users are as likely to choose next-day delivery for a weekly shop (48%) as they are to opt for same-day delivery when doing top-ups or adding forgotten items (32%). Fast delivery (30–60 minutes) constitutes approximately 20% of orders.

Basket Value for Weekly Shops

The average basket value for weekly deliveries that are scheduled is £76 and includes a full week’s essentials, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, bread and meat, as well as household products.

Basket Value for Top-Up Orders

Top-up orders are much smaller, at an average of £22 per basket, and commonly restricted to essentials such as milk, bread, or fruit. These take particularly well on fast delivery apps like Deliveroo, Hop, or Getir.

Weekend vs. Weekday Patterns

Saturday and Sunday mornings are the highest traffic times, when about 35 percent of all of your weekly in-app orders come in. Weekdays see more top-up purchases.

Frequency by Household Type

Households with kids order 1.5x more than non-households with kids. Bigger families also gravitate toward subscriptions for unlimited deliveries.

Subscription Effect on Frequency

Subscribed households order an average of five times every month versus 2.7 orders for non-subscribers. There’s no doubt that delivery passes lead to greater use.

Rural Delivery Frequency

Rural households don’t order as frequently — approximately 2.2 times per month — in part because of limited delivery slots; that’s become less so since 2022.

Market Share of the Sector by Leading Grocery Apps in the UK(2025)

The UK grocery app market will look very different by 2025; it is fiercely competitive, dominated by the supermarkets and complemented by rapid-delivery players. While scale is dominated by Tesco and Sainsbury’s, Ocado and Amazon Fresh are increasingly establishing good positions in premium and convenience segments. Here’s the breakdown of the market:

Tesco Grocery App

Despite the loss, Tesco still dominates with about 37% of UK grocery app users. Its power lies in the broad coverage of stores, dependable delivery slots, and its Delivery Saver subscription scheme, which boasts more than 1.2 million UK members.

Sainsbury’s App

Sainsbury’s has about 20 percent of the grocery app market. It’s Nectar loyalty cred in service of repeat purchasing, and Sainsbury’s has also been investing heavily to improve same-day delivery in a number of city centres, too.

Asda App

Asda’s grocery app has 14% of the market, and it draws thrifty consumers. Its “Asda Rewards” scheme, in conjunction with strong pricing, helps ensure basket sizes remain bigger than at rivals.

Ocado App

Ocado, which has a more premium positioning, has around 11% of the market. It serves higher-income families to a large extent, with an average basket size nearly 30% more than Tesco’s. Ocado’s customers have among the highest loyalty in Britain by virtue of having signed up to the website’s ‘Smart Pass.’

Amazon Fresh

Amazon Fresh holds 8 percent of the market. Its urban reach may be less than Amazon’s, but being a part of Amazon Prime means strong coverage in cities that attract frequent online shoppers.

Fast-Paced Delivery Companies (Deliveroo Hop, Gorillas, Getir)

Similarly, rapid delivery services combined account for about 6% of the UK grocery app market. They rule the smaller “top-up orders” category, with baskets that average £20-£25. The pace at which they can deliver (15-30 minutes isn’t uncommon) certainly holds strong appeal for younger, urban shoppers.

Other Players

Morrisons, Aldi, and Iceland together have about 4%. Their apps have been getting better, but they’re second choices to Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Asda.

Also Read : Cost of Developing a Custom Grocery

The top trends of UK grocery apps to consider in 2025

Beyond usage and market share, grocery apps in the UK are evolving due to new technologies, customer expectations, and retailer priorities. In 2025, there are a number of trends that indicate where the markets will be heading.

Rise of Rapid Delivery

15- to 30-minute grocery delivery has gone from novelty to deadly serious. Though smaller in scale, players such as Getir, Gorillas, and the recently relaunched Deliveroo Hop have still managed to build up loyal urban followings, particularly among younger consumers who prize speed over basket size.

Subscription-Driven Growth

An increasing number of households are signing up to passes- such as Tesco Delivery Saver and Ocado Smart Pass for home deliveries. Subscribers shop 25–30% more frequently than non-subscribers, so subscriptions are a retention mechanism.

Sustainability and Eco-Delivery

Today, almost 40% of UK grocery app users say they would like to choose eco-friendly delivery options. Retailers are adapting with electric vans, bike couriers, and less packaging for online orders.

AI & Personalisation

[Low hanging fruit] AI-based product recommendations are not `special’ anymore. By 2025, 70% of consumers who use grocery retailer apps in the United Kingdom indicate that they receive personalized promotions based on their purchasing history, which helps grow basket size and retention.

Hybrid Shopping Models

Shoppers are increasingly combining app-based orders with in-store top-ups. Click-and-collect is now supported by a number of apps, and it represents 12% of all UK grocery app orders.

Expanding Product Categories

Apps are not just for bread, milk, and fruit anymore. Grocery stores are pushing alcohol, household products, and even clothing through their grocery apps to raise the order size.

Competition from General Delivery Apps

Uber Eats and Deliveroo, which used to concentrate on restaurants, are rapidly spreading to the spare room. By 2025, they will be the secondary grocery apps for almost 20% of households.

Also Read : Create and Manage a Local Grocery Delivery App

UK Grocery App Market: the Strengths, Weaknesses, Friction, and Successes of the State for the Government.

Although grocery apps are now central to everyday shopping habits in the UK, 2025 has also pinpointed some urgent problems. Escalating expenses, practical barriers, and consumer demands are prompting re-evaluations of digital strategies among retailers.

High Logistics & Delivery Costs

Fleets of vans, bike couriers, and rapid transit systems come at a cost. As gas and wages become more expensive, many supermarkets are trying to figure out how much convenience their business can handle.

Labour Shortages

Shipping, delivery, and customer service staffing shortages remain a reliability issue. In the UK, missed delivery slots and late arrivals are a major grievance amongst customers.

Customer Retention Issues

Shoppers frequently toggle between apps on their smartphones to pursue deals. Almost 45% of grocery app users confess they don’t want to be faithful to one app, making loyalty harder and boosting marketing spend.

Substitutions & Stockouts

Among the most maddening things for users are substitutions of items. About 30 percent of orders involve at least one substitution, and customers often complain about bad replacements.

Rising Competition

Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Ocado, Amazon, and Rapid are all fighting for the same customers. Smaller supermarkets struggle to match on price, coverage, or speed.

Subscription Fatigue

Although delivery passes are gaining in popularity, some families are cutting back on them because they overlap costs with Netflix, Prime, and other subscriptions. This adds pressure on food apps to demonstrate their actual utility.

Data Privacy & Compliance

Apps are gleaning enormous amounts of customer data, making GDPR compliance and safe storage a necessity. Violating these policies means fines and a loss of trust.

Also Read:- Types of Grocery Delivery App

Threats in the UK Grocery App Market (2025)

BigBasket, though, is flourishing in the UK, and 2025 has also revealed the difficulties that come with such rapid growth. From expensive logistics to mounting customer expectations, supermarkets and delivery players are facing a squeeze on providing convenience at the right price — and in a profitable manner.

High Logistics & Delivery Costs

Operating grocery delivery networks is costly. Supermarkets are grappling with higher fuel prices, increased vehicle maintenance expenses, and costs for drivers and couriers. Even faster delivery (reaching you within 15–30 minutes) is even more unsustainable. As a result, many apps are playing around with minimum orders or browsing surcharges to police costs, but are cautious of the potential for customer frustration.

Labour Shortages

Staffing issues are a continuing bottleneck. Warehouses, pickers, and the last-mile couriers are in scarce supply across Britain. Missed slots, late attendance, and fluctuating service all act as barriers to customer trust. Even a 10-minute delay can lead to harsh reviews in the fast-casual world, and so staff shortfalls are a serious problem.

Customer Retention Issues

Of course, price shopping behavior is hard to secure loyalty based on. Almost 45 percent of grocery app users bounce between apps based on promotional offers, delivery slots, or convenience. Supermarkets invest heavily in price reductions and vouchers, increasing acquisition costs while eroding margins.

Substitutions & Stockouts

Product substitutions certainly remain one of the bugbears for most in the UK grocery app market. Approximately 30% of orders contain at least one item substitution, and a lot of customers are not happy with the substitutions (e.g., they replaced branded items with generic ones). Bad handling of substitutions leads to refund requests, lost loyalty, and social media complaints.

Rising Competition

The UK grocery app space is well-established with heavyweights Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Ocado alongside Amazon Fresh and rapid services like Deliveroo Hop. With that intense competition, each player battles over delivery speed, basket size, customer loyalty plans, and prices. For small stores, it is impossible to compete without visibility.

Subscription Fatigue

Subscription models such as Tesco Delivery Saver and Ocado Smart Pass have been well adopted, but fatigue is beginning to take its toll. Many households already manage a suite of services (Netflix, Prime, Disney+, gym memberships), and some are canceling grocery passes to save money. Grocery apps will need to demonstrate clear value beyond “free delivery” if they intend to hang on to these subscribers.

Data Privacy & Compliance

With an app managing sensitive customer data — addresses, payment details, purchase history — compliance with GDPR is nonnegotiable. Violations could result in substantial ICO fines and reputational harm. In 2025, consumers are more cognizant of the risks to their data and will expect transparency about how their data is collected, stored, and used.

Is This the Right Time to Invest in Grocery App Development?

The UK’s grocery app market is having a moment of explosive growth and investment. 

With adoptions increasing across all demographics and levels of spend continuing to grow annually, 2025 provides an idyllic new market for businesses to break into. 

But investing isn’t just about timing — it’s about knowing where the gaps and the opportunities are.

Here’s why this just might be the time to develop a grocery app:

Rising Demand Across Demographics

UK adults now use over 30 million grocery apps, and penetration has grown to 72% of households. This means grocery shopping apps are no longer just for time-crunched urbanites; everyone from families to those who dwell in rural areas and even older Americans is embracing digital shopping. The enormousness of its addressable market suggests that there are still entry points.

Subscriptions Driving Loyalty and Revenue

Subscription models are the beasts that save our collective lung power, without loyalty cards – from Tesco Delivery Saver to Ocado Smart Pass. Subscribed customers spend 25% more each month on average and order with greater frequency. Newcomers could, for example, offer additional benefits bundled with their service — still more “free delivery over £30” or exclusive discounts — to build customer loyalty.

Here to Stay: Hybrid Shopping

Shoppers no longer distinguish between online and in-store. Click-and-collect now accounts for 12 percent of all grocery app orders, showing that hybrid models are working. For supermarkets, there is an opportunity to bridge in-store fulfilment with app-based ordering – taking the strain off delivery networks and meeting people’s expectations.

Quick Delivery Ought to Thrive In Desperate Need, Though Not Cheap

Rapid grocery delivery (15–30 minutes) has chiseled out a 6% market share in the UK. It’s costly to scale this approach, but partnerships with local businesses or “dark stores” can reduce operational risk. The desire for food at ultra-speed, especially by Gen Z and millennials, is enough of a reason to consider this space with so much potential for startups as well as supermarkets.

Market Fragmentation Paves Way for Innovation

Tesco is first with 37% market share, but 43% of the shoppers still use multiple grocery apps. This is an indication that there’s no single monopoly. “Sustainability tracking, A.I.-based shopping lists or flexible payment plans” are just some features that could make a new app stand out in a very crowded landscape, he said.

The Technology is There, Customer Experience is Clear

From AI-driven personalization to mobile-first design, the tech stack is battle-tested. Personalized offers, frictionless checkout, and some environmentally friendly cred are now just part of the package shoppers expect. They do so for obvious reasons, and if they manage to satisfy the expectations, such four titleholders could have a great career in front of them.

Making Sense of These Statistics

The UK grocery shopping app market is a numbers game – but the story they show is in what they indicate about customer behaviour, market lacunae, and opportunities to come. This is how to read the data in a way that matters for businesses and investors.

Consumers Value Speed and Convenience

If the data points — 32 percent of orders from Amazon on same-day delivery and 20 percent rapid delivery — don’t tell you something about time as a newly central currency, nothing will. People want groceries when they want them, and apps that bring convenience without shafting you are poised to win loyalty.

Spending Soars Despite Economy’s Woes

With inflation included, average monthly spend per user has risen 11% since 2023. That is, shoppers are willing to pay for comfort and dependability. Apps that allow families to get a handle on costs through smart deals, budget tracking, or bundled subscriptions could flourish.

Loyalty is precious — and delicate as glass.

And with 45% of people willing to switch apps for better deals, there is no guarantee for loyalty. But the ones who remain subscribers spend dramatically more. The opportunity? Create apps that work loyalty rewards, cashback, and personal offers into to prevent disenfranchised customers from looking elsewhere.

Next Stop: Rural Markets

Cities are in the lead, but country usage has doubled since 2022 and is now at 28%. Logistics challenges persist, though increasing coverage could make grocery apps or supermarket partnerships focused on rural areas another lucrative channel.

Personalisation Is Becoming a Standard

More than 70% of UK grocery app users are now served up personalised recommendations. Consumers want their phones to know what they like and suggest meal plans or offers based on previous purchases accordingly. Companies that avoid using AI are at risk of being overtaken by competitors.

Sustainability Is a Growing Factor

Close to 40 percent of shoppers were willing to use “eco-friendly” delivery methods as well, meaning electric vans or less packaging. Shoppers will be increasingly drawn to retailers that display carbon savings per order or offer eco-slot choices.

The Bigger Picture

Together, these statistics illustrate a market that’s ballooning, fracturing, and creating new niches. Whether it’s around speedy delivery, corners of the market that are more rural, or AI-powered shopping experiences, there is still room for new players — provided they can tap into real customer pain and solve for it.

Why Bestech Solutions UK Grocery App Development Company Is A Good Choice To Partner With

The data is unmistakable: there are opportunities for taking in the 2025 UK grocery app landscape – but launching an app isn’t enough. You want a solution that scales, fits the compliance, and works with features customers actually use.

This is where Bestech Solutions, a reliable UK grocery app development company London , comes into play.

We create grocery apps built specifically for the UK, with:

• Admin Dashboard for full inventory, pricing, and logistics control.
• Cashier and team resources that speed up your order fulfilment.
• Customer-friendly features such as AI-driven recommendations, loyalty rewards, and click-and-collect.
• Payments, ERP, and supply chain, plus delivery systems integrations to maintain operations in sync.
• Compliant-first development (UK VAT, GDPR, and PSD2 conformance).

Whether you’ve chosen to launch a grocery delivery startup, revitalise your grocer’s digital channel, or venture into rapid delivery, we have the know-how.

The market is ready. The customers are waiting. The only question — will it be your app they do it with?

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