In a report last year, Verdict Retail predicted that UK online sales of food and grocery would grow by just under 50% in the five years to 2019, by which time this route to market would account for 8% of all spending across the sector. The arrival of Amazon Fresh is promising to ratchet up activity in this area still further, as much through the example it sets as through its own operations. Even if this were the only cross-current washing around the industry, that might still be enough to tug many food manufacturers' business plans off course. Others will console themselves with the thought that traditional retail still retains the lion's share of sales, and in any case, the logistical burden of coping with e-commerce and home delivery does not fall on the manufacturer.
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