The Future of Online Grocery Shopping in the United ... - Kantar Retail

© 2012 Kantar Retail
WHY Buy Groceries Online?
The Shopper Perspective
In general, shopping online is thought of as a way to either purchase goods in a very convenient way OR
purchase them at a lower price. While this is obviously a false dichotomy as both reasons influence online
purchasing, it is informative to ask shoppers to choose which is more important: time or money.
When asking shoppers to indicate which side of the “save time vs. save money” issue best describes why they
shop online, online grocery shoppers are decidedly more likely than the average online shopper (56% vs. 46%)
to fall into the “save time” camp—suggesting that these shoppers may be willing to pay a small premium for
the convenience of online grocery shopping. Based on the fee structure of most online grocers in the United
States today, particularly the “traditional grocers” who offer home delivery, this is how it is currently playing
out in the marketplace as grocers charge an additional fee to cover delivery costs.
More broadly taking a look at the retail landscape and reasons why shoppers are drawn to online purchasing,
there are three main (and intersecting) driving forces behind why shoppers choose to shop and purchase
online: convenience, price, and assortment (Figure 7).
Figure 7: Reasons for Purchasing Groceries Online
Type Online
Grocery Shopper Kids in HH Age Income* Gender
Under
Have
Total Dedicated Casual No Yes 45 45+ Nots Haves Male Female
Sample Size 275 95 160 179 93 178 97 160 115 156 119
Convenience
Convenient to have groceries delivered to my
front door
44% 43% 51% 47% 42% 46% 41% 54% 31% 51% 36%
Saves time 36% 54% 31% 39% 30% 34% 38% 31% 41% 36% 35%
I don’t have to carry heavy items home 30% 28% 29% 28% 36% 28% 34% 36% 22% 27% 35%
Easier to find what I need 26% 24% 31% 18% 43% 27% 26% 27% 26% 30% 23%
Easier to purchase groceries online when
I’m already researching product information
online
15% 19% 18% 9% 28% 17% 11% 16% 14% 18% 12%
It takes me longer than expected to shop in
stores
10% 18% 11% 12% 6% 8% 12% 12% 7% 10% 9%
Price
Saves money 41% 40% 54% 39% 45% 42% 40% 43% 38% 46% 35%
Special promotional deal (e.g., $x off delivery
fee or next order)
30% 29% 32% 31% 29% 32% 27% 33% 25% 30% 30%
Helps me stick to a budget 21% 16% 26% 17% 30% 26% 12% 28% 13% 26% 15%
Easier to browse deals and coupons 16% 19% 20% 17% 17% 14% 22% 13% 22% 17% 16%
Assortment
There is a wider variety of grocery products
available online
Quality of produce and fresh items is often
times better than that in stores
30% 20% 41% 27% 35% 29% 32% 34% 24% 31% 28%
15% 22% 20% 15% 18% 19% 10% 14% 17% 19% 12%
*Kantar Retail groups US households into 2 segments based on household income that also closely correlates with divergent shopping and spending behavior:
“Haves” > $60K per year, and the “Have Nots” < $60K
Note: Bolding/highlighting indicates significantly greater vs. all shoppers (95% confidence level)
Source: Compete Online Intelligence Study, Spring 2012; Kantar Retail analysis
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