Online grocery shopping isn’t a rare luxury anymore. For many shoppers, it’s become a way of life. They like the convenience, they’re happy with the costs, and they say the process is relatively seamless.
So what could make it even better? Shopping assistance from artificial intelligence. An improved online shopping experience at dollar stores. And personal shoppers who can actually pick out decent produce.
The Feedback Group’s new “Online Food Shopping Experience” report compiles the findings from a survey of more than 1,200 online grocery shoppers. It finds that online grocery shopping has come a long way – but it’s still far from perfect.
Nearly half of respondents said they’re spending more of their grocery budget online this year, with 79% planning to spend the same or more this year. Overall, they express satisfaction with factors that have proven to be pain points in the past. Even though some lawmakers have called out in-store and online pricing discrepancies, 70% of survey respondents said their stores’ online prices are the same as they are in store, and they’re satisfied they’re paying a fair price for the convenience of online ordering. Even though shoppers in previous surveys have lamented the lack of online coupons and deals, shoppers in this survey said they find it easy to identify online deals and have discounts applied during checkout. And even though a variety of different retailers are stepping up their online grocery game, shoppers in this survey believe traditional supermarkets still do it best.
“Supermarket investments in e-commerce capabilities have clearly paid off,” Brian Numainville, Principal at The Feedback Group, said in a statement. “But there’s still room for improvement.”
The perceived drawbacks of ordering groceries online remain the same as they have for years. Shoppers in The Feedback Group’s survey said “product availability, order accuracy, and confidence in fresh department quality” are their major concerns. Whether it’s due to out-of-stocks or sloppy order fulfillment, a third of those surveyed said there have been times they haven’t received all of the items they ordered. And less than three-quarters of shoppers said they’re confident in the quality of produce they order online – the lowest confidence level across all categories.
So what could be improved? Many shoppers are expressing interest in getting assistance from artificial intelligence. One in five online grocery shoppers said they have used AI-powered features like chatbots and smart shopping lists. A third said product recommendations could be better and more relevant to them. And nearly half said they would like to be able to use voice commands to add items to their cart.
In general, older shoppers are more satisfied with online grocery shopping, potentially because they don’t expect too much. “Younger shoppers, who are more accustomed to seamless digital experiences across industries, may have higher expectations for online grocery services,” The Feedback Group surmised. So “retailers should focus on personalization and enhanced usability to better cater to Millennials and Gen Z.”
Overall, traditional grocery stores scored highest in online shopper satisfaction, followed by Amazon and mass retailers like Walmart. Bringing up the rear were value retailers and dollar stores, which still have some work to do before they can be considered reliable online grocery providers. When asked which platforms made it easiest to identify sales or special prices and have those discounts applied during checkout, ALDI and Amazon fared best, while deal-seeking online shoppers were less impressed with Walmart.
Finally, there’s the matter of how online grocery shoppers like to receive their orders. While buy-online-pick-up-in-store has been getting more popular, in part as a way to avoid delivery fees, delivery actually surpassed pickup in this survey, with 52% preferring to have their orders delivered to their doors. And nearly half said they’d be willing to pay more for guaranteed two-hour delivery.
No matter shoppers’ preferences, and despite some lingering drawbacks and challenges, “online grocery shopping is firmly entrenched in consumer behavior,” the report concluded. Now if only you could always trust the produce that’s picked out for you, online grocery shopping may become a convenience that more shoppers decide really is worth the cost.
Image source: Instacart
