Consumers are changing how they shop for food and beverages.
Some shifts, such as a marked increase in fresh food purchases, benefit traditional ‘brick-and-mortar’ retailers while others, such as a growing interest in shopping whenever/wherever and having groceries delivered, benefit online retailers.
While online and nontraditional grocery shopping options proliferate, Technomic research shows that shoppers, including the 25% who already shop for groceries online, rate traditional ‘brick-and-mortar’ retailers significantly higher on a large number of key attributes.
Executive vice president Bob Goldin notes that, “traditional retailers appear to be doing an excellent job in satisfying their customers, as evidenced by the fact that 61 percent say they enjoy the in-store shopping experience.”
He believes this high level of satisfaction may limit the potential for many online retailers.
“Brick-and-mortar competition is very formidable,” he adds.
“Online retailers have a number of consumer appeals, but must overcome several major hurdles before they can optimize their potential, including concerns about freshness and order accuracy,” says study director Kelly Weikel.
Technomic’s research on online and emerging food retail channels covers over 20 discrete emerging channels and 20 specific companies.
The firm will conduct a 30-minute complimentary webinar on December 4, 2014, at 10 a.m. CST to discuss key study findings.
