The future of on line grocery shopping: implications of our new research

Some learnings from our most recent research really struck me. The numbers of shoppers who have tried on line and no longer use it. The  bias to homes where there are small children and a non working homemaker. The relative unwillingness to buy chilled and fresh on line.

I also noted that shoppers tend to stay loyal to their favourite store, whether on line or in store, on line not necessarily a great way to win new shoppers (or at best they may be expensive recruits visiting just to redeem the coupon).

It all made me wonder whether we should stop thinking about on line versus in store as two alternative channels, but rather the two need to be developed as complementary arms of one channel. As one integrated shopper marketing solution can we meet a customers needs by offering an exciting and inspiring in store experience backed up with a convenience and easy way to pick up the basics with minimal fuss and hassle?

The implications are huge: less space instore to household basics, but more “Prestore” inspiration on line for recipes and information. As “Click and collect” gathers pace now is the time to make the two routes work together rather than compete with each other

Food for thought?

The research is available to down load free from this website.