Sainsbury‘s online sales hit £1bn in September as sales saw growth of 16 per cent per year.
190,000 customers now use the online service every week which covers 96 per cent of UK postcodes. The grocer also won the Grocer Gold Award for Online Retailer of the Year in 2013.
“We‘ve gone from strength to strength in recent years, and hitting £1bn in sales is a great testament to the dedication to our colleagues who always go the extra mile to deliver outstanding service for our customers”, said Jon Rudoe, Sainsbury‘s Director of Online, Digital & Cross-Channel.
“We‘re confident there is still a huge amount of potential for growth as our online grocery operation continues to complement our core supermarket business,” he added.
The grocer, who launched its online grocery business in 1999, has launched, acquired and licenced various media services in the past two years. In October 2011 it acquired Global Media Vault to support its foray into the video on demand market, with its Sainsbury‘s Entertainment website allowing customers to rent films from 99p.
One customer said that she was ‘impressed‘ with its online service but another was frustrated that shopping online for food with the grocer was ‘stressful.‘
The grocer has performed well of late and now holds 16.5 per cent of the grocery market.
To celebrate reaching £1 billion in sales, all Sainsbury‘s colleagues will enjoy a temporary increase in their colleague discount to 20 per cent.
