Baby products boost online shopping around the world | Key4Communications |

Multichannel grocery shopping is surging across the globe, with the birth of a new child being a primary driver of an increased propensity to buy online, according to a new study from customer data firm Dunnhumby and based on the behaviour of shoppers in 14 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Across established, emerging and nascent markets, baby food and baby care products appeared in the top three sales categories. Further, baby milk was by far the leading product for new online shoppers, indexing at almost twice the rate as the second most popular product among new shoppers, water.

Online performance was also affected by how a brand's audience matched the typical online shopper – generally younger, affluent consumers with young children – as well as brands' understanding and response to the path to purchase in their category, including how consumers use search, search terms and favourites.

Emerging markets are seeing the most growth with 97% year-on-year, but even established markets have grown by more than 30%, the report said.