A report by Kingston University’s business school has discovered that the number of consumers who buy groceries online is falling, with people believing it is more stressful to buy online than in store.

Only 3.2% of grocery sales are online, compared with 10% of all retail sales.

The report, published in the European Journal of Marketing, discovered that people tend to switch to online grocery shopping due to change in conditions, such as a broken limb or having to care for a child or elderly parent.

However, it was found that when circumstances changed back, people were more likely to go back to their original shopping habits, as well as because of various faults and worries in the delivery of goods.

The report found that many people found it more stressful to wait for the delivery of the items than it was to shop in the store, for reasons such as worrying if the van would turn up, if all the chosen items would be there – or if they would have been changed to the nearest replacement if something wasn’t available, and about the dates of refrigerated and fresh items.

Dr Francesca Dall'Olmo Riley from the Kingston Business School team said: "Even though the UK online market is regarded as the most advanced in the world, online groceries are still only a niche market.

"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.”

Suggestions made to increase the service usage included improving the service given, cutting down on delivery fees or providing a monthly subscription change in its place, and providing special offers for online customers only.