As consumers seek to effectively manage their increasingly busy lives, convenience is oustripping cost, as retail and shopper marketing agency Savvy found in a recent study into what drives online grocery shopping.
Cost is often thought to be a major driver behind shopping for groceries online. However, Savvy’s recent survey of more than 1,000 online shoppers about why they purchase groceries online reveals that it is convenience that is of paramount importance.
Almost three-quarters (74%) said convenience was the main reason they went online to order groceries, up from 55% in 2012. Just 19% cited cost, 3% cited the access to larger product ranges and 4% cited other reasons.
“While the industry typically defines convenience as a format of store, from the shoppers’ perspective convenience is about making their lives easier,” said Alastair Lockhart, insight director at Savvy. “To them it is of paramount importance, irrespective of retailer, channel and format. This point is strikingly reinforced by the findings of our research, highlighting that online plays a crucial role in a retailer’s ability to deliver a broader convenience strategy.”
When asked what could be done to improve the grocery shopping experience:-
– 61% want coupons sent to their mobile phone;
– 59% would like to receive targeted product recommendations;
– 56% want loyalty cards to be replaced by apps;
– 50% would like to access video content such as recipes on a grocery store’s website.
Additional findings from the survey include:
– 39% shopped online for groceries at least once every three months;
– 59% wrote a shopping list;
– 66% shop from the living room, 20% from the kitchen and 6% from the bathroom’
– 23% watch TV while they shop;
– 25% prefer to use a mobile device to shop.