Dive Brief:
- Unata’s 2017 Grocery eCommerce Forecast said that 31% of U.S. consumers are expected to order groceries online this year, a 19% increase from last year, according to The Shelby Report.
- The survey, conducted in partnership with Brick Meets Click, also found that 80% of shoppers who purchased groceries online last year plan to do so again this year.
- Additionally, 23% of consumers who ordered online last year said that their current grocer does not offer e-commerce services.
Dive Insight:
It’s expected that 20% of all grocery sales, representing around $100 billion, will come from online shoppers by 2025, according to data from the Food Marketing Institute and Nielsen.
What’s more, a recent study by the NPD Group predicts 20 million consumers who are current, lapsed, or new to online grocery shopping will increase their shopping activity in the next six months, joining the 52 million people already shopping online.
Some studies have shown that millennials enjoy shopping in brick-and-mortar stores, but want things to be more convenient. Analysts believe retailers need to amp up digital offerings that better cater to this group to keep them away from shopping online.
Brick-and-mortar stores need to go tech themselves to compete, whether by introducing apps at the store to make shopping more convenient, or by presenting deals and specials on websites and social media.