Grocery shopping has changed.
I noticed the other day when I was out getting a few groceries that the isles were full of staff members filling up bags. The bags were in a large cart and there were three levels. I noticed but did not think about it until today. I was in the grocery store and as I turned the corner I was almost hit by one of the carts. Lucky for me that the lady steering the cart was quick and she stopped. I apologized as I was the one not paying attention.
I then said that it looked like the store was getting a lot of online shoppers. She said yes, and went on to explain that her store did not charge for the pickup, whereas all of the other competitors charged for the picking. She said, "Phone us, give us your list, your brand preferences if any, and then we pick it up and you come to the store and pick it up." She added, "If you wanted it delivered there was a nominal charge."
I asked if this was new and she said, "This area of shopping has picked up in the last few months, and she was glad as it kept her working and out of trouble." I laughed and continued my shopping. But I got to thinking that grocery shopping has changed for many.
One of the concerns that many seniors have is losing the ability to stay in your own home because they cannot get out to do the chores, see the doctor, or shop for groceries. Modern businesses are meeting the need of people who cannot get out, or who do not have the time to spend shopping. It appears the millennials and Gen Xers are leading the charge in the use of this convenience, but I think Boomers will start to use this to help them.
According to the latest data from Prosper Insights & Analytics’ November 2016 survey, 7.7% of U.S. consumers shopped for groceries online in the past 30 days, up from 5.7% two years ago. Not surprisingly, younger generations are driving the uptick. One in ten millennials and Gen Xers did online grocery shopping in 2016, up from 8.4% and 6.8% respectively in 2014.
The “convenience” of online shopping and grocery delivery means different things to different people. For some in crowded urban areas, getting to and from the grocery store may be a transportation issue. For busy working parents, grocery shopping may be a time issue. Others may just dislike grocery shopping and do anything to avoid the store.
While Wal-Mart and Amazon will continue to fight it out on the national level, the store I was in was a large regional supermarket. The management of this chain clearly see the trend and are starting to make their mark in the areas they are competitive. the frontrunners and will continue battling it out in the online space.
It is nice to see a Regional competitor that is local to my area not sit idly on the sidelines and developing an integrated and seamless multi-channel shopping experience that will benefit the store, and the consumers in my area.
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Comments
Royce Shook
5 years ago #1
Hi Franci, I agree, my question is do they charge to pick up or is that a free service?