[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/10\/25\/omnichannel-grocery-retail\/#Article","articleBody":"Online grocery shopping transformed from niche to a lifeline during the pandemic and the actions that omnichannel grocers take now will solidify its rise.\nExclusively shopping for groceries online makes up only a fraction of consumer shopping habits and is expected to grow 8% over the next year. In-store only shoppers make up the lion\u2019s share of grocery customers, but even their spend will increase just 12%.\nThe real growth will occur with omnichannel grocery. While these hybrid shoppers only make up 4.3% of grocery shoppers, their growth in spend is slated to be 18%.\nSo what can grocers do to court these growth leaders?\nPersonalization for relevant customer engagement\nProvide a blended online and in-store grocery experience\u00a0\nData integration across the organization to understand the customer\nBoost basket size with omnichannel grocery\nIn-store grocery accounts for 80% of spend for a reason: grocery shopping is largely experiential. Shoppers are looking at labels, smelling fruit, checking expiration dates.\nNot to mention, it\u2019s an entirely emotional experience: shoppers and their families will be eating and enjoying these products; they want to pick the very best for their loved ones. However, there are several categories of products where anyone can make the right call.\nMany shoppers use online orders as supplements to their in-store purchases. Got the milk and eggs yesterday, but forgot the Goldfish and Cheerios? A store employee can quickly bag up the items you forgot and bring them to your car or deliver them to your home. These omnichannel grocery customers are driving much of the growth because they are engaging on multiple channels.\nWhile in-store shoppers might stick to the list, online orders are more likely to add up quickly, as online grocery shoppers spend significantly more ($74 online basket average versus $55 in-store basket).\nMeeting shoppers\u2019 needs across channels makes grocers that much more helpful for their busy customers and comes with the added bonus of increasing average orders.\n \nGrocery retail reality: Omnichannel is here to stay\n   Grocery retail today is all about providing customers with personalized, omnichannel experiences. Consumer behavior has changed and grocers must adapt.  \nBe relevant, get customers to stick\u00a0\nLoyalty in grocery is about more than just driving to a sale, it\u2019s also about personalization and education. Think recipe ideas and nutrition information.\nWith more digital touchpoints associated with the omnichannel shopper, grocers have more opportunities to provide experiences and information that can set them apart from competitors.\nOmnichannel grocery is all about balance. Grocers can\u2019t continually remind shoppers to checkout again because seasonal needs change, or they might go on vacation and not need an order for a couple of weeks. Grocers need to find a balance that works for the customer so that they\u2019re helpful, instead of encouraging shoppers to hit \u201cunsubscribe\u201d when they get one too many irrelevant emails.\n \nDrone delivery, unique offers, prepared meals: e-grocery trends to watch\n   The adoption of e-grocery shopping has skyrocketed. Top e-grocery trends retailers should watch include AI tools driving personalization, drone delivery, data security, and ready-made meals.  \nShoppers are ready for omnichannel. Grocers need to catch up\nThe pandemic encouraged online grocery purchases and some of these habits will stick around in the coming years. But grocers need to be able to meet the needs of these omnishoppers now so that\u2019re able to enjoy the opportunity in this growing sector. The future of grocery will be \u201cphygital,\u201d which requires seamlessly blending the benefits of the online and in-store grocery experiences.\nSome grocers might fear that investing in online channels will be costly and cannibalize their in-store operations, but meeting shoppers where they are and gently nudging them towards the products and experiences they\u2019re likely to enjoy will always be a good investment.\nIf fact, large grocers that have invested in an omnichannel strategy have been able to increase their total share of wallet with omnishoppers by 29%. In a lower margin sector of retail, this is a very significant amount of revenue that no grocer should ignore.\nBesides the physical infrastructure that\u2019s needed to handle online orders, grocers also need to focus on data integration. There can\u2019t be silos across the organization. Grocers need a full understanding of who shoppers are, what they purchased in the past, their favorite channels, and more to provide spot-on recommendations.\nAmazon has a subscribe-and-save program for grocery and household items that need to be replaced often. Creating a program like this first requires an understanding of how often a shopper buys that item and giving them options for delivery and pick up. The consistent revenue that comes from such a program is well worth the effort.\n \nPersonalization in retail: Laying the foundation for success\n   Personalization helps retailers get closer to their customers, but how do you get started? Here are some steps for customer engagement success.  \nOmnichannel grocery: The time is now\u00a0\nIntegrating data across online and in-store grocery channels is essential to a strong growth plan because it enables personalization that can enhance the omnichannel customer experience. A complete omnichannel marketing strategy includes interaction at every point along the consumer journey and comes with tangible benefits.\nWhen grocers get omnichannel personalization right, they can reap the benefits of lower customer acquisition costs, more revenue, and increased marketing efficiency. Now\u2019s the time to put the digital and physical infrastructure in place.\nAre you ready for the future of grocery\ud83d\uded2? Start HERE!","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/10\/25\/omnichannel-grocery-retail\/#Article_Person","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/10\/25\/omnichannel-grocery-retail\/#Article_Person_ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Angelica-Valentine-150x150.jpg"},"name":"Angelica Valentine","sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/AngelicaSaidSo","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/angelicavalentine"],"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/angelica-valentine\/"},"dateModified":"2021-12-03T03:16:38+00:00","datePublished":"2021-10-25T05:01:37+00:00","description":"Find out how grocers can reap the benefits of omnichannel grocery by providing a personalized, blended online and in-store experience.","headline":"Hey big spender: Winning the omnichannel grocery\u00a0shopper","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/10\/25\/omnichannel-grocery-retail\/#Article_ImageObject","height":"630","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/omnichannel-grocery-shopping-1200x630.png","width":"1200"},"mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/10\/25\/omnichannel-grocery-retail\/","name":"Hey big spender: Winning the omnichannel grocery\u00a0shopper","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/","additionalType":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q1193236","description":"Relevant, timely information & analysis on commerce trends, both consumer-facing and B2B.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/themes\/hybris_foc\/assets\/images\/layout\/logo-new-2x.png?_=1","height":"96","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/themes\/hybris_foc\/assets\/images\/layout\/logo-new-2x.png?_=1","width":"500"},"name":"The Future of Customer Engagement and Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/a-call-for-a-better-experience\/id1479742201","https:\/\/twitter.com\/FutureOfCEC","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/groups\/4844282","https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/feed\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/"},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/10\/25\/omnichannel-grocery-retail\/#Article"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2021","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"10","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/10\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"25","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/10\/\/25\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Hey big spender: Winning the omnichannel grocery\u00a0shopper","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/10\/25\/omnichannel-grocery-retail\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]