One in three shoppers will engage in “eGrocery” this year, using an online device to place orders at their supermarket for pickup or delivery, a new study predicts.
The rate is up from one in five shoppers last year and way ahead of the one in 12 shoppers just two years ago.
It’s impressive growth, to be sure. But why then, I wondered, listening to the late-January webinar on the topic, did an
informal poll of session participants show a good chunk of them still lacking e-commerce capabilities?
Unata, a Toronto designer of online tools for supermarkets, surveyed more than 500 U.S. shoppers in December to compile the outlook offered in the webinar. According to the
company, the findings show that eGrocery had shifted from being “a differentiator” among supermarkets to being “a critical method of doing business.”
It underscored that point by noting that of the shoppers who said their current grocer does not offer e-commerce, 36 percent said they still would likely order online this year –
meaning they’ll wind up shopping elsewhere.
“That’s missed opportunity,” said Dan Farmer, a Unata vice president and webinar presenter.
He said it was important for grocers who do offer online ordering to make sure customers are aware of the service. The Unata survey showed that 41 percent of shoppers didn’t know whether the chain they frequented had e-commerce capabilities.
Farmer also stressed the importance of doing eGrocery well, since the survey showed that two-thirds of online shoppers would switch chains for a better user experience.
Chris Bryson, Unata’s founder and CEO, said that for the customer who tries and then embraces eGrocery, the option becomes “so critical to them that they’re willing to switch
grocers based on the quality of the online experience because their M.O. going forward is convenience.”
“The digital shopper … is impatient,” he added, and has high expectations. Also participating in the webinar was Bill Bishop, co-founder of Brick Meets Click, a
suburban Chicago e-commerce adviser to grocers.
It was Bishop who posed the informal poll asking webinar participants where they stood with e-commerce: their stores had it; they were setting it up now; they didn’t have it but
want it; they didn’t have it and are unsure they want it. The poll showed 73 percent of participants reporting e-commerce capabilities, but I asked
Bishop later why the percentages in the latter two categories – no online option – were still so high.
David Bishop, a partner in Brick Meets Click who oversees research, emailed me to say that grocers are a conservative bunch given their “very complex and challenging
business.”
“The dynamics are very different for grocers as compared to retailers selling books, electronics or clothing,” he said. “As such, traditional brick-and- mortar grocers are taking
a cautious and controlled approach to e-commerce as there’s a lot at stake for them and their shoppers.”
Marlene Kennedy is a freelance columnist. Opinions expressed in her column are her own and not necessarily the newspaper’s. Reach her at marlenejkennedy@gmail.com.
The rate is up from one in five shoppers last year and way ahead of the one in 12 shoppers just two years ago.
It’s impressive growth, to be sure. But why then, I wondered, listening to the late-January webinar on the topic, did an
informal poll of session participants show a good chunk of them still lacking e-commerce capabilities?
Unata, a Toronto designer of online tools for supermarkets, surveyed more than 500 U.S. shoppers in December to compile the outlook offered in the webinar. According to the
company, the findings show that eGrocery had shifted from being “a differentiator” among supermarkets to being “a critical method of doing business.”
It underscored that point by noting that of the shoppers who said their current grocer does not offer e-commerce, 36 percent said they still would likely order online this year –
meaning they’ll wind up shopping elsewhere.
“That’s missed opportunity,” said Dan Farmer, a Unata vice president and webinar presenter.
He said it was important for grocers who do offer online ordering to make sure customers are aware of the service. The Unata survey showed that 41 percent of shoppers didn’t know whether the chain they frequented had e-commerce capabilities.
Farmer also stressed the importance of doing eGrocery well, since the survey showed that two-thirds of online shoppers would switch chains for a better user experience.
Chris Bryson, Unata’s founder and CEO, said that for the customer who tries and then embraces eGrocery, the option becomes “so critical to them that they’re willing to switch
grocers based on the quality of the online experience because their M.O. going forward is convenience.”
“The digital shopper … is impatient,” he added, and has high expectations. Also participating in the webinar was Bill Bishop, co-founder of Brick Meets Click, a
suburban Chicago e-commerce adviser to grocers.
It was Bishop who posed the informal poll asking webinar participants where they stood with e-commerce: their stores had it; they were setting it up now; they didn’t have it but
want it; they didn’t have it and are unsure they want it. The poll showed 73 percent of participants reporting e-commerce capabilities, but I asked
Bishop later why the percentages in the latter two categories – no online option – were still so high.
David Bishop, a partner in Brick Meets Click who oversees research, emailed me to say that grocers are a conservative bunch given their “very complex and challenging
business.”
“The dynamics are very different for grocers as compared to retailers selling books, electronics or clothing,” he said. “As such, traditional brick-and- mortar grocers are taking
a cautious and controlled approach to e-commerce as there’s a lot at stake for them and their shoppers.”
Marlene Kennedy is a freelance columnist. Opinions expressed in her column are her own and not necessarily the newspaper’s. Reach her at marlenejkennedy@gmail.com.
Resource: https://dailygazette.com/article/2017/02/08/online-grocery-shopping-taking-off