The Independent cites TNS data that shows Asda boosted its first-quarter online sales by more than 70% compared to the equivalent period last year.

The performance catapults Asda over its UK rival to become the second-largest online retailer after Tesco.

The news will be regarded a blow to Sainsbury’s, which has wrestled with a number of technical issues over its website in recent weeks, causing the temporary closure of the site.

While online grocery shopping continues to grow at a rapid pace in the UK, it appears to be a different story across the Atlantic. In the past week the competitive UK market has digested the news that Waitrose is scrapping its delivery charges and Ocado is to sell 4,000 Waitrose own-label products at a cheaper price than is available in the grocer’s own stores.

The former is bound to have repercussions, as the other major grocers take a close look at their delivery-charging models, and although the latter will have less impact on the wider market it does signify how desperate Ocado is to grow its share of business.

In contrast, in the US, Albertsons announced that it is to stop its home delivery for online orders in all its markets. The only thing it is retaining in certain areas is online ordering for collection in-store, which it says customers regard as a convenient way to shop.

The divergence in the two markets must largely be down to the high density of delivery drops achievable in the UK whereas the vast distances between shoppers in the US does not justify the cost to retailers of offering home delivery services for low margin grocery products. This is undoubtedly why it is still viable in higher density conurbations like New York where FreshDirect is a popular service.

This is at the heart of why Tesco is the world’s biggest online grocer and the significantly larger US market has nothing that comes close to comparing with it.

“We want to ramp up the volumes,” said Mark Price, managing director of Waitrose. “Delivery charges are a real irritation for customers when they’re spending £90 on a shop.”

Britain’s worst recession in more than two decades has heaped pressure on supermarket chains to pitch their pricing strategies correctly as customers tighten their belts.

Waitrose, with 200 branches across the UK, has benefited as people eat out less, according to Mr Price. The chain, which recorded a 6pc jump in sales over Easter compared with last year, said it was winning customers from rivals such as J Sainsbury.

Owned by The John Lewis Partnership, Waitrose is betting that its move will help prise shoppers away from rivals in the online grocery market, which it claims will enjoy sales of £13bn within four years.

The charges will cease from Wednesday although the Waitrose Deliver service will still require a minimum order of £50. Waitrose Entertaining, its service for party food and drink, does not have a minimum order requirement.

The decision to scrap the charges comes in the same week that shoppers at online delivery service Ocado will be able to buy Waitrose food cheaper online than from the supermarket for the first time.

John Lewis Partnership has a stake in Ocado but does not fully own it, so the internet delivery company is able to charge what it likes for Waitrose products.

Mr Price has said there are many promotions that Waitrose runs in store that Ocado does not offer. The free delivery is not being offered by Ocado.

Mr Price said trading in the first three months had been better than expected and he was in the optimists camp regarding the rest of 2009.

Each day at noon a new product will replace the previous day’s deal, with an email sent out to subscribers offering them the chance to bag a discount of at least 50 per cent off the typical selling price. Firebox is working with suppliers, which have overstocks as a result of the economic downturn. Once stocks of each day’s offer are sold out then the promotion automatically expires.

Firebox.com managing director Christian Robinson says: “Everyone loves a real bargain and in the current economic climate more than ever we anticipate strong consumer demand for quality products that might not be brand new to market but are fun, quirky, and at a price that’s simply too good to miss. The deals of the day offered on Opportunity Box are exclusive and strictly limited, making them even more exciting. It’s also great for us to be able to offer our customers interesting products that previously hadn’t quite made it into the Firebox range.”

The first product in the Opportunity Box spotlight is a Wireless Garden Speaker with Light which currently retails online for between £49.99 and £59.99 online but is available for £24.77 for 24 hours only (until noon on April 16, or until stocks last).

The company says that as well as being environmentally friendly, the system allows customers to keep track of their expenses and retailers have the option of placing additional advertising on the online receipts.

Shoeboxx says that it is in negotiations with several major retailers to set up pilot programmes of the service. The basic business model would involve it being free for both retailers and consumers to use; with the company behind the site making money by charging only for enhanced services, such as corporate customers who want to use it as an expenses tool.