Most online grocery shoppers take an omnichannel approach to grocery shopping, also stopping at brick-and-mortar stores.
Customers are taking an omnichannel approach to grocery shopping as more options become available. While adoption of online grocery shopping is moving at a slow pace, some 10% of U.S. consumers now regularly buy groceries online, according to The NPD Group, a global information company. But nearly all online grocery shoppers (99%) still shop in brick-and-mortar grocery stores.
Consumer preferences when shopping for foods and beverages and logistical challenges are the primary reasons why consumers haven’t gone all in on online grocery shopping. Wanting to pick out their own fresh items was the top barrier to their shopping online for groceries, followed by not wanting to pay a delivery fee. Many consumers (46%) who are lapsed online grocery shoppers or have never shopped online like that walking through a store remind them of what else they need. And, even though one of the key benefits of online shopping is speed, 46% of consumers who aren’t online grocery shopping enthusiasts feel it’s faster to go to the store.
The benefits of online grocery shopping, like not needing to leave home, price comparisons, speed, and not having to wait in lines are enough for a growing number of consumers to be enticed, but not enough to get them to do all of their grocery shopping online. Groceries may in fact follow the same path as other categories, like electronics, where consumers still want to see the item up close and personal. Like electronics, often the answer is in an omnichannel approach, which many of the major grocers are now offering, reports NPD.
“With major brick-and-mortar grocery stores announcing click & collect and various speedy delivery options, the line between physical and online is blurring and, as a result, consumers are getting the best of both worlds,” said Darren Seifer, NPD food and beverage industry analyst. “There is also a place for pure-play ecommerce grocers but it looks like, as of now, consumers want a seamless experience between brick-and-mortar and e-commerce.”
