Walmart.com Leads Ecommerce for Fresh Grocery

NATIONAL REPORT — A new report comparing four major ecommerce retailers has found that consumers prefer Walmart.com when it comes to buying fresh foods.

The report from Field Agent, a market research firm based in Fayetteville, Ark., also found that Jet.com takes top spot for packaged groceries. The report compared Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Target.com and Jet.com.

According to the report, 25 percent of Walmart.com shoppers purchase fresh foods from the site, compared with 10 percent, 8 percent and 5 percent at Target.com, Jet.com and Amazon.com, respectively.

"Walmart.com provides more options to buy not only electronics … but groceries as well, and they give me the option to … pick it up from the store, free," a survey respondent said.

Despite Amazon's growing threat to retailers, the fresh foods category remains a predominantly brick-and-mortar affair, said Chris Medenwald, marketing manager at Field Agent, so it stands to reason that ecommerce retailers with pervasive brick-and-mortar operations will enjoy important strategic advantages over their online-only rivals with fewer stores.

As for packaged groceries, 44 percent who shop Jet.com purchase these goods. This compares with 30 percent, 25 percent and 18 percent doing so at Walmart.com, Amazon.com and Target.com, respectively.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. acquired Jet.com last year.

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