Study: Despite slower adoption, e-commerce is making its mark in grocery

Click-and-collect boxed-meal delivery services are encouraging more customers to make online grocery shopping part of their weekly routine.



Currently, 97% of all consumer-packaged goods (CPG) dollars are still being spent in brick-and-mortar retail stores. However, the popularity of click and collect boxed-meal delivery services has 28% of shoppers purchasing groceries online regularly.



This was according to “Brick & Clicks: Understanding the Omnichannel Landscape.” The report from Acosta, a sales and marketing agency focused on the CPG industry, revealed that e-commerce grocery shoppers are multi-faceted. However, many online shoppers skew toward Millennial age groups and people living in urban areas.



For example, 23% of older Millennials (ages 30-34), and 14% of younger GenXers (ages 35-39) are considered frequent CPG e-commerce shoppers, meaning they purchase groceries online an average of 50% or more of the time. Seventy percent (70%) of these frequent e-commerce grocery shoppers have children.



Meanwhile, 68% of frequent e-commerce grocery shoppers in urban areas have taken advantage of pure play/direct-to-home grocery services (such as Amazon Fresh). And 67% have used third-party delivery, versus 52% and 17% of those in suburban areas, respectively.



When it comes to infrequent e-commerce grocery shoppers (those who purchase groceries online less than 50% of the time, on average), 59% are somewhat to extremely likely to try pure play e-commerce websites like Amazon within the next year. Meanwhile, 35% are somewhat to extremely likely to try click and collect programs in that same timeframe, data showed.



While online sales have grown — specifically in the dry-goods, nonfoods and health and beauty care categories — brick-and-mortar retail continues to be preferred when grocery shoppers want to personally select their produce and when they seek fresh meats, cheeses and other chilled categories. Grocery purchases remain concentrated in grocery retailers (58%) and mass retailers (29%).



One category that has seen the most significant growth in online sales over the past year — at nearly 73% — is the pet category. This segment also experienced a 1% decrease in brick-and-mortar sales. Natural channel shoppers (53%) and drug channel shoppers (48%) are most likely to purchase groceries online.



Shoppers both online and in store have the advantage of having numerous digital tools and resources at their fingertips, allowing them to create a hybrid grocery shopping experience that’s tailored to their preferences. For example, 40% of U.S. grocery shoppers use a retailer’s mobile app, and 23% of these users spend time seeking deals before visiting the store.



More than 58% of U.S. grocery shoppers are interested in scan-and-go technology in store, with usage and interest decreasing with age. Meanwhile, 15% of frequent e-commerce grocery shoppers use auto-replenish digital platforms, such as Amazon’s “Subscribe & Save” or Chewy.com’s “Autoship.” And 56% of male e-commerce grocery shoppers are influenced by social media when shopping online, versus 39% of females, data revealed.



“Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods is the perfect example of how the CPG landscape is changing and how technology and online retail have created a shift in the way people shop for groceries,” said Colin Stewart, senior VP at Acosta. “While e-commerce is growing in this space, retailers still have a leg up, as our research has shown the majority of grocery shoppers are still making purchases in store and they find value in doing so.”