The Online Grocery Shopper

EXPLORING EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES AND WAYS TO ENGAGE MORE CONSUMERS IN A NEW ERA OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

Shopping online for groceries is a growing business. Various sources forecast online purchases of packaged goods to grow from $12 billion today to $25 billion by 2014. From Amazon to Walmart, consumers can now shop for grocery essentials from the digital platform of their choice—anywhere, anytime, any day.

While consumers have rapidly and dramatically embraced digital technologies—especially mobile devices—many experts say that the migration to online grocery shopping will likely occur at a much slower pace. But this is anyone's best guess. After all, consumers are increasingly becoming more comfortable shopping online. Consider the percentage of consumers shopping online across various channels for similar products they now purchase in-store (source: Shopping Topography: Mapping the New Consumer Pathways to Purchase, 2012 report, The Hartman Group):

Club Channel - 41%
Drug - 22%
Mass and Drug - 17%
Grocery - 14%

It will only continue to grow. Whether simply browsing the Internet for meal and recipe ideas, or undertaking a major grocery shop, the fit between in home, mobile behaviors and the relatively complex task of in-store grocery shopping has increasingly developed positive synergies with today's online grocery business models.

So, for grocery retailers, both web-based and brick and mortar companies with an online presence, the question is classic, textbook marketing: how to attract, convert and retain more consumers?

The Hartman Group is launching a new syndicated "The Online Grocery Shopper" that is designed to explore the evolving online grocery shopping marketplace to uncover the challenges and opportunities for the future of online grocery retailing as well as provide an in-depth profile of the online grocery shopper, their behaviors, online adoption pathways and what this picture might look like for tomorrow's grocery shopper.

This study will examine broad questions, including:

What broad strategies and specific tactics should food retailers use to attract shoppers to the online channel and enhance their loyalty and business value across channels?
How should food manufacturers manage their category and brand portfolios, and where should they focus their industry-building efforts, across emerging digitally-enabled channels and services?

Areas of exploration include:

The online grocery shopper
The online shopping trip and basket
The new competitive landscape
Use of mobile and technology platforms
The future of online grocery retailing

The Online Grocery Shopper is scheduled to field in the third quarter of 2012. Download the study overview for a more detailed description of the study scope, objectives, and methodology. Sign up now to take advantage of special pricing for early participation.