Woman using phone

There is growing interest among shoppers in using voice-activated technology for online grocery shopping, according to new research from IGD.

Three in 10 (28%) shoppers said they would be interested in using a voice-activated device such as Amazon Alexa or Google Home.

Shoppers wanted more convenient solutions, with 19% envisaging they might be buying their food online and getting it delivered to a secure refrigerated locker near their home in the next two to three years.

Nearly a quarter (24%) said they would consider signing up to an online subscription service to get grocery products they use regularly delivered to them automatically.

One in five (22%) shoppers welcomed the idea of their food and groceries being delivered to them by drones or robots.

IGD revealed the online grocery market is worth £10.4bn and in the last month 41% of shoppers said they had bought some of their food and groceries online.

Six in 10 shoppers predicted they would shop online for some groceries in the next three years. IGD forecasts online grocery will grow 53.8% to £16bn by 2022.

Technology in stores was also of importance to shoppers. Just under half (48%) said they were interested in using touchscreens in stores to find out more information about products, and 43% were interested in using their mobile to scan and pay for items without going through the till.

Just under half (44%) said they liked the idea of receiving personalised offers on their phone in different parts of the store, with 42% saying they would be interested in being alerted to relevant offers when they are near a store.

“We live in an increasingly ‘on-demand’ and connected world where consumers expect a frictionless shopping experience,” said IGD senior innovations and trends analyst Toby Pickard.