Rewe not yet making any money online

The online trade is booming, but for commercial giant Rewe, one of the pioneers of the fresh delivery service in Germany, it is still not worthwhile. "We do not currently earn money from the online food trade. This is an investment in the future," Rewe CEO Lionel Souque told the Deutschen Presse-Agentur.

Among other things, the supermarket chain supplies fresh meat, fruit and vegetables in 75 cities in Germany. For comparison, Amazon Fresh so far only supplies customers in three major cities and Edeka’s delivery service Bringmeister has only started in two major cities.

For some time, Rewe has also been putting the brakes on the expansion of its online offerings. "In recent years, we have not increased the number of cities in which we deliver," says Souque. First, Rewe wants to focus on improving the quality of deliveries in these 75 cities.

According to a survey by management consultancy Oliver Wyman, three factors in particular are reducing the willingness of German consumers to buy fresh food such as meat, fruit or vegetables online: doubts about the quality of the delivered goods, long delivery times and the often higher prices compared to shopping in the supermarket.

Source: Stern/dpa