A new report by retail consultancy The Retail Group says Australians who have “free” delivery will pay more for their groceries than those who rely on a full-price delivery service.

The study, which is the latest to look at the cost of delivering groceries in Australia, found customers who use “free delivery” are paying more for groceries than customers who rely solely on a price-per-kilometre or per-kilogram delivery service, which are currently charged at $1.20 per kilogram.

“The majority of Australians, and their families, have an online grocery order,” the report said.

In a statement, The Retail Groups said its study “found the cost per delivery is the least expensive for Australians with a basic food delivery plan”.

“Customers can expect to pay an average of $1 per delivery and an average daily rate of $2.50 per delivery,” it said.

“That is far below the cost for delivery in many other countries, and far cheaper than in many cities in the US, Germany and Britain.”

The Retail Group’s findings come after a study by the Australian Retail Consortium found that Australians pay the highest price for groceries on average, at $2 per kilo.

It found that shoppers who had “free deliveries” are paid more per delivery than people who relied on a “full-price” service.

The study found that the average price of groceries delivered in the states of Queensland and New South Wales was $1,200 per kilos.

However, customers in the Northern Territory and the ACT paid the lowest prices, at just $2,500 per kilojoule.

“This is because many people in these regions pay an extra cost for the convenience of using a free delivery service to pick up groceries,” the study said.

The report also found that consumers in the three major Australian cities — Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide — pay the lowest price for delivery.

Australians are expected to spend more on groceries in 2019, the study found, with the average household budgeting $1 billion a year for groceries.

Customers are also expected to be the first to pay more when they buy groceries online, as a rise in online grocery sales will push the cost up.

The Retail Guild has previously warned that Australians are buying fewer groceries than they used to because of a growing supply shortage and high price pressures.

“We know Australians are still buying less groceries than we used to, but they’re also buying more online,” Mr Cottesloe said.

“They’re using the internet for a lot of things like grocery shopping, shopping on the go and grocery delivery.”

“But they’re doing it for a reason, so it’s not as easy to make a good-value purchase as it used to be.”

Topics:consumer-finance,consumer-protection,food-and-beverage,food,australia