Last updated on April 6th, 2018
RichRelevance, a provider of personalized shopping experiences, has released key findings from a new study that looks at consumer preferences and behavior around digital grocery. The study identifies consumers’ appetite for digital grocery and picks out early leaders, as well as the features and capabilities that shoppers want.
The survey of 1,500 U.S. shoppers finds that nearly half of Americans (45 percent) have shopped for some type of groceries online. Additional findings from the survey include:
- Amazon has an early lead: Amazon attracts twice as many shoppers (60 percent) as traditional supermarkets (27 percent) and big box retailers (27 percent)—and four times as many as wholesale clubs such as Costco (15 percent).
- Digital sales offer a significant opportunity today: Online grocery shoppers have not settled on a grocer of choice, with four of 10 (36 percent) stating they currently shop at more than one online grocery store. And more than 60 percent of Americans who don’t yet shop online are willing to explore a new grocer when they do.
- Digital grocery is far from a mature category: A majority (56 percent) of Americans have yet to shop online for any type of grocery. And, of those who do, six of 10 (60 percent admit they only rarely shop online.
- Beware of basket size: Six out of 10 (62 percent) consumers report spending less when they shop online, and 4 in 10 (39 percent) report that fewer impulse buys is one of the biggest advantages of shopping online.
- Shoppers want relevant content: The top features that would push consumers to shop more online range from presenting frequently bought items (56 percent), favorites (56 percent) and alternatives (50 percent) to suggestions to complete a meal (26 percent) and personalized apps/pages (37 percent). Linking to a connected fridge ranked last (8 percent).
“As the fight for category leadership in digital grocery heats up, experience personalization will take center stage in 2018,” said Michael Ni, CMO of RichRelevance. “Grocery buying is increasingly becoming a lifestyle choice beyond produce. This is creating opportunities for new grocers to engage consumers with new and fresh ideas, gather key customer browsing and buying behavior and personalize their various brands, creating a virtuous cycle of loyalty. Grocers need to learn from the early mistakes of traditional retailers and not simply try to compete with Amazon on convenience, but focus on the new opportunity that online shopping provides.”
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