UK consumers are shunning online grocers and returning to the supermarket aisles, according to a study published in the European Journal of Marketing.

Researchers from Kingston University in London found people who switch to internet retailers do so only temporarily.

Those drawn to doing their weekly shop online quickly tired of trawling through hundreds of products, late deliveries and obscure substitutions for unavailable items, according to the research.

The study also revealed concerns among shoppers that fresh produce purchased online such as vegetables, bread and milk, are often delivered too close to their use-by dates.

The research team from the university’s Faculty of Business and Law conducted focus groups and an online poll to establish the reasons for the adoption – and discontinuation – of online food shopping.

While many consumers take up online shopping as a consequence of specific lifestyle triggers such as moving to new house a further distance away from the nearest supermarket, the arrival of children or mobility issues, many switch back to physical grocery shopping once their situation changes.

Dr Chris Hand, one of the researchers, said: “When someone starts buying books or music online they don’t normally stop and go back to bookshops or CD sellers. But that’s exactly what is happening with many online grocery shoppers.”

Despite the fact that online grocery shopping has seen considerable growth over past few years and supermarkets have invested heavily in attracting customers to their online offerings, the sector only accounts for around 3.2% of total grocery sales in the UK.

Dr Dall’Olmo Riley, who conducted the poll, said: “Even though the UK online market is regarded as the most advanced in the world, online groceries are still only a niche market.

“Many respondents felt online grocery providers could not be trusted to be reliable because products were regularly omitted from their delivery and substitute items were often considered unsuitable. They also complained about late deliveries, bad picking and packing of goods and perishables being too near sell-by dates.”

The researchers suggested online supermarkets should look for ways of tying customers in by changing their business model. Replacing delivery charges with a monthly subscription or making some special offers only available online were some of the ideas put forward.

“One finding that came over very clearly was that internet and supermarket shopping are not mutually exclusive – online shopping is complementary rather than seen as a substitute,” Dr Dall’Olmo Riley said.

“Reverting back to the traditional mode of shopping is easy because shoppers never completely stop shopping in traditional stores.”

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