K Group has launched a completely redesigned online food store service, which will become available to a growing number of Finns over the next few months, as the new K Transport service expands to Kerava, Turku, Tampere and Oulu. Online food store services are already available to more than three million Finns.
“Online food sales have been gathering pace considerably lately as people with busy everyday lives prefer to save time and effort by having groceries delivered straight to their home. We see good growth potential in online food sales, and have invested in it considerably,” says Jani Karotie, K Group’s Vice President of store operations.
K Group has redesigned its online food store service, integrating it into the popular
k-ruoka.fi website and making it accessible through the K-ruoka mobile application, thus enabling people to do their grocery shopping anywhere, anytime.
“Traditionally, people’s reluctance to buy food online has been related to limited selections and the inability to ensure the quality of products that have not been hand-picked by the customers themselves. Clearly, these factors are no longer an issue, as fruit and vegetables and even salmon are now among the most frequently bought food items online,” notes Karotie.
Families with children make up the majority, some 75%, of online food shoppers. The online food store also attracts demanding customers who emphasise quality and fresh foods. The average purchase online is 5 times higher than in a physical store.
Service will expand considerably this year
“Over the spring, our reach will grow as the new K Transport service expands from the greater Helsinki area to Kerava, Turku, Tampere and Oulu, thus guaranteeing home deliveries to two million Finns,” says Karotie.
Some K-retailers already offer own home delivery, and K Transport will complement those services.
Currently, 90 K-food stores offer the new online food store service to their customers either with home delivery or as a click & collect service. The number of stores offering the service is constantly growing and is expected to rise to some 140 by the end of this year.
“Our online food store services are already available to some three million Finns, i.e. more than 60% of the population. When it comes to shopping, we want our customers to be able to choose the channel that best suits them in each situation. In practice, prices, special offers and to a large extent selections are already identical at the store and online,” says Karotie.