App users overtook website visitors for Tesco, Co-op and Lidl last year, according to data shared exclusively with The Grocer and sister title Retail Week.
As habits have changed, the number of average monthly website users fell for eight out of 10 grocers, Similarweb data shows. In tandem eight out of 10 supermarkets saw the average number of iOS and Android app users increase in 2025.
“It is a trend we have seen across e-commerce more broadly,” said Similarweb principal insights analyst Daniel Reid.
The data forms part of the Digital Capability Index (DCI), a new report ranking 65 retailers based on whether they are delivering the cross-channel shopping features consumers say matter to them. Forty-two out of the 65 major retail websites tracked saw a drop in average monthly visitors in 2025 compared to the previous year.
Reid said another factor driving the fall in web traffic was that many retailers now have a conscious strategy of shifting consumers to their apps, where they have more control of the purchasing journey and can collect additional data on shoppers. “Apps allow retailers to better serve content with push notifications etc, again increasing loyalty,” Reid adds.
Tesco’s website received the highest number of monthly visitors as well as monthly app users.
Lidl, which does not offer online grocery orders, was further down the chart for website visits, but use of its app shot up to make it the second most used app. Lidl previously disclosed that its number of monthly active users had grown by 34.9% in the year to July 2025, as it added new features such as Lidl Pay and Lidl Plus price promotions and personalised offers.
Co-op has also built out its app, with the rollout of member prices to its online store and app for the first time in 2024. In August last year its new electronic shelf labels invited shoppers to tap or wave their phones to become a member to access its loyalty prices. The Similarweb data suggests nearly a third more people used Co-op’s app on iOS and Android phones in 2025 than the previous year.
The full research, which benchmarks 65 of the UK’s biggest retailers, will be published as part of the Digital Capability Index, a joint paper by Retail Week and The Grocer, to be launched at LIVE 2026 on March 3.
The exclusive report will provide an in-depth view of which digital features are most important to UK consumers, which brands are most digitally advanced, and which have the most room for improvement.
To find out more and book your tickets, visit the Retail Week x The Grocer LIVE 2026 website.
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