LAUSR

Background: Online grocery retailing holds potentially fruitful outcomes for retailers and consumers. However, both retailers and consumers have been slow to adopt and participate in this form of grocery retailing, especially in countries with emerging economies such as those in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries. Objectives: Websites are significant in an e-supply chain, as they replace the conventional bricks-and-mortar store. This article fills a gap in the literature by considering the website as a barrier to online grocery retailing. Method: The website qualities of nine online grocers from BRICS countries are evaluated through content analysis to determine whether the website is a possible barrier. Two prominent online grocers’ websites from the United Kingdom (UK) served as the benchmark. Results: The findings indicate that the websites of online grocers in BRICS countries comply with the quality criteria and are comparable (in terms of quality) with the websites of leading online grocers from the UK. Conclusion: In line with the findings, it can be concluded that a website is not a barrier impeding the growth of online grocery retailing in the emerging economies of BRICS countries.