RichRelevance Digital Grocery Survey Finds Amazon Takes Early Lead – But 60% of Shoppers Willing to Explore a New Grocer Online

Shoptalk 2018 – Las Vegas, NV – March 19, 2018 – RichRelevance, the global leader in Experience Personalization, today announced key findings from a new 2018 study that looks at consumer preferences and behavior around digital grocery. The study identifies consumers’ appetite for digital grocery and picks out early leaders, as well as the features and capabilities that shoppers want and need.

The survey of 1,500 US shoppers finds that nearly half of Americans (45%) have shopped for some type of groceries online. Additional key findings from the survey include:

• Amazon has early lead: Amazon attracts twice as many shoppers (60%) as traditional supermarkets (27%) and big box retailers (27%) – and 4 times as many as wholesale clubs such as Costco (15%).
• Significant opportunity today: Online grocery shoppers have not settled on a grocer of choice, with 4 of 10 (36%) stating they currently shop at more than one online grocery store. And more than 60% of Americans who don’t yet shop online are willing to explore a new grocer when they do.
• Digital grocery is far from a mature category: A majority (56%) of Americans have yet to shop online for any type of grocery. And, of those who do, 6 of 10 (60%) admit they only shop rarely.
• Beware of basket size: 6 out of 10 (62%) consumers report spending less when they shop online, and 4 in 10 (39%) report that fewer impulse buys is one of the biggest advantages of shopping online.
• Shoppers want relevant content: The top features that would push consumers to shop more online range from presenting frequently bought items (56%), favorites (56%), and alternatives (50%) to suggestions to complete a meal (26%) and personalized apps/pages (37%). Linking to a connected fridge ranked last (8%).

“As the fight for category leadership in digital grocery heats up, Experience Personalization will take center stage in 2018,” said Michael Ni, CMO of RichRelevance. “Grocery buying is increasingly becoming a lifestyle choice beyond produce. This is creating opportunities for new grocers to engage consumers with new and fresh ideas, gather key customer browsing and buying behavior, and personalize their various brands, creating a virtuous cycle of loyalty. Grocers need to learn from the early mistakes of traditional retailers and not simply try to compete with Amazon on convenience, but focus on the new opportunity that online shopping provides.”