Half of consumers find the idea of rapid grocery delivery in half an hour or less appealing, according to a report by data and digital consultancy TWC.
The research reveals that this number rises to 69% among those living in London.
This over-index coincides with the greater presence of the quick commerce tech start-ups such as Gorillas, Getir, GoPuff and Zapp, but also relates to the demographic make-up of the capital, with more working professionals.
In terms of which companies are on consumers radars, Gorillas is the best-known at 46% awareness, followed by Getir at 41%.
The primary reasons consumers cited for using rapid delivery firms were that the shops are too far away (42%), the shops are closed (35%), not having to wait long for delivery (35%) and bad weather preventing them from leaving the house.
Consumers reported typical spends of over £20 on each occasion, with over half exceeding this level of spend.
This is over double the typical instore convenience basket and reflects the willingness to pay a premium for the convenience of delivery.
“We are seeing really high levels of consumer interest in rapid delivery of grocery and there is strong evidence that these services attract a different consumer to traditional convenience stores, as well as driving bigger baskets,” TWC communications director Sarah Coleman said.
“That said, these services boomed during the pandemic when demand was incredibly high, with many people isolating and lots of shops and services unable to open.
“Now the world is opening up again, plus the macro-economic climate is challenging, which means investors in rapid delivery and looking for sustainable, long-term business models and consequently we are seeing consolidation and scaling back of some operations.”