A、They are too afraid of Amazon to offer online-grocery service. B、They won’t take Walmart’s online-grocery business seriously.

Grocery has so far resisted the rise of online shopping. That may be about to change. "There is a huge difference between being late and being too late," said Dalton Philips, the boss of Morrisons, on November 21st, as he announced the launch of the British grocer’s online-shopping service.
    Morrisons’ change of heart will be noticed beyond Britain. Grocery is the biggest category in retailing but the most resistant to the advance of online shopping.
    Grocers have held back for good reasons. Like many physical-store merchants they are worried that online commerce will reduce sales in stores but not the costs associated with them. Grocery, with its tiny profit margins, adds complications. Virtual shopping-carts contain dozens of low-value items, which must be stored at different temperatures. Retailers can either get in-store staff to pick them off the shelves, which becomes disruptive as volumes rise, or build dedicated warehouses, which is costly. So are home deliveries: even in thickly settled Britain each one costs grocers around ￡10, but shoppers typically pay little more than ￡3.
    Consumers are also cautious. Many want to examine fresh produce before they buy it. "They don’t want to buy again when online grocers deliver substitutions instead of what they ordered. Many shoppers try grocery websites but get discouraged," says David Shukri of the Institute of Grocery Distribution in London.
    However, Tesco claims its online operation, with nearly half the British market, is profitable.
    Peapod, the biggest American online grocer, has shown a flair for innovation: Peapod’s customers can buy by scanning images of products on delivery lorries and coffee cups with their mobile phones. Lazy Manhattan residents have been ordering Thanksgiving feasts from FreshDirect, the second-largest online grocer, which is partly owned by Morrisons. Both ventures prosper because they cater to well-off families, largely in cities.
    Amazon began fresh-food deliveries in Seattle a few years ago and in Los Angeles last year. It is expected to add maybe 20 cities abroad. Traditional grocery chains will respond. "They are determined not to repeat the mistakes other sorts of retailers made at the turn of the century, when they were too afraid of Amazon," says Robert Hetu of Gartner, a technology-research firm.
    Walmart Labs in Silicon Valley has imported many of the people who developed the online-grocery business at its British subsidiary. On November 25th Walmart said that its new chief executive would be Doug McMillon, who as head of the international operation is responsible for its British subsidiary. He may speed Walmart’s halting American effort.
    If a big American retailer plunges in, others will take it seriously and the market will expand rapidly, says Mr. Biggs.
19 What is the grocery’s attitude to online shopping?
20 What is consumers’ attitude to online grocery shopping?
21 What do we know about Tesco?
22 How do the traditional grocery chains respond to online shopping?