When people visit real high street shops and supermarkets it is simple enough to find out where a product has originated, as the country in which it was manufactured or grown is usually displayed prominently on the packaging.

Such transparency does not exist online, as it may often be difficult for consumers to find out about the origin of an item until after it has been delivered. Now a survey conducted by YouGov has shown that there is growing support for a change in the law to address this.

Eighty one per cent of the British adults questioned in the report said that when it comes to buying online, the amount of information available about products should be exactly the same as when making purchases at bricks and mortar outlets.

Sixty four per cent said that they would also like the option to be able to narrow down their search for products, especially during online grocery sprees, so that only items produced in the UK are displayed.

As more people look to lower the carbon footprint of their online baskets, being able to buy British and also support domestic farmers and other industries is important. Supporters argue that the changes to labelling would improve things immensely.

Respondents were also asked about how clear they found current labelling, with many criticising the fact that it can be extremely difficult to work out the country of origin of items which are heavily processed.

With more people buying groceries online, the need for clearer, more transparent labelling is becoming increasingly apparent. This is especially true for emerging online grocery firms which want to compete with traditional supermarkets and offer a superior experience to customers, rather than falling short of meeting expectations.