Consumer Confidence, Adoption of Online Grocery Accelerating

BARRINGTON, Ill. — New research findings from Brick Meets Click prove the theory that ecommerce is the way of the future for grocery retail.

Brick Meets Click’s new “Grocery Ecommerce Supermarket Scorecard Report” reveals that online grocery purchases account for 5.2 percent of total store sales for supermarkets that have enabled online shopping for at least four years. This compares to a 3.4-percent average among all supermarkets currently offering online shopping. 

The report analyzed online transactions at nearly 200 stores operated under 26 retail banners for four weeks in March of this year. The research found that more shoppers are doing their shopping online, and that stores are seeing an increase in the number of online transactions per store, as well as growing total online sales.

“While some food retailers have moved cautiously into ecommerce, adoption is now accelerating, driven partly by the increased share of households who are regularly buying groceries online," explained Steve Bishop, manager partner and co-founder of Brick Meets Click. "This research found that 24 percent of shoppers bought groceries online in the last 30 days, up from 22 percent two years ago."

The “Grocery Ecommerce Supermarket Scorecard Report” also looked into what sort of items shoppers are adding to their virtual carts. Per the findings, about 85 percent of online transactions included produce items, while 66 percent included meat/seafood and nearly 50 percent included bakery items.

As for how customers prefer to receive their orders, the study found that customers prefer to get their items delivered to their door if given the option, vs. picking up their order themselves. When a retailer provides both services, 74 percent of shoppers opted for delivery.

To read the full story, check out Convenience Store News' sister publication Progressive Grocer.