[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/29\/e-grocery-trends-retailers\/#Article","articleBody":"The adoption of e-grocery shopping habits has skyrocketed in the US. For example, between March 2020 and March 2021, Amazon increased the capacity of their grocery delivery service by more than 160%.\nThe traditional retail market was affected by the pandemic more than any other commerce segment as people tried to avoid face-to-face contact and made online purchases of basic consumer goods.\nPreviously, such purchases were made at corner stores or in weekly trips to supermarkets.\nOf course, such rapid growth is unlikely to continue, but the trend of general e-commerce proliferation as well as the efforts of e-grocery players to retain initially reluctant customers are here to stay.\nTrends in e-grocery will focus on retaining and developing relationships with customers who came during the pandemic, as well as on further technological improvements in business-to-consumer interactions.\n \nOnline retail COVID-19 impact: e-commerce skyrockets\n   E-commerce was already growing at a steady clip, but the online retail COVID-19 impact has billions of people shopping from home.  \nE-grocery: What\u2019s ahead for online grocery shopping\nThese are the top e-grocery trends for retailers to watch:\nArtificial intelligence will optimize sales and drive personalization\nDelivery by drones\nSustainability\nReady-to-eat meals\nVoice recognition\nThe rise of in-house brands\nData security and privacy\nLet\u2019s take a closer look at these trends.\nAI-based tools drive personalization\nThe primary task of artificial intelligence in the field of e-grocery is to collect data about customers from various sources, including online channels, offline outlets, and user behavior on the site, then apply this data to better understand the needs of the target audience.\nArtificial intelligence can be used to take into account such factors as weather, holidays, seasonality that have never been considered before and use them to optimize purchases and sales. The use of Al-based tools will enable every customer to receive their own unique e-grocery offers based on personal preferences and behavior.\n \nThe future of online shopping gets real with AI and machine learning\n   AI and machine learning have starring roles in the future of online shopping. Retailers that leverage these technologies effectively can build brand loyalty for years to come.  \nE-grocery delivery via drones\nExpect to see more delivery methods, such as robots and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) delivery to increase the speed of delivery and avoid face-to-face contact.\nThe technological basis for drone delivery is already quite well-developed. Such innovation will reduce the time of delivery along with fuel and courier costs, leading to reduction in the price of goods.\nThis still needs a legal framework and regulation, but even the most conservative lawmakers won\u2019t be able to resist this trend and will be forced to develop the right laws. Delivery by drones or robots will also maximize the speed of service, which is extremely important in today\u2019s world.\nGreener grocery shopping Greenhouse gas emissions, environmental regulation, reduction of plastic packaging will be a major e-grocery trend. For the new generation of buyers, the reduction of carbon footprint has become extremely important.\nRetailers will have to work on reducing plastic packaging, as well as transitioning to non-vehicle delivery. The use of AI will allow for more intelligent planning of purchases and product storage, leading to the reduction in packaging associated with long-term storage.\n \nGive people what they want: A sustainable business model\n   Consumers, investors, and partners are increasingly making decisions about your company based on a sustainable business model. Here, we examine the rise of sustainability as a business value.  \nNo time to cook? No problem; e-grocery is on it!\nReady-to-eat meals and subscription delivery: All over the world, people are cooking less. This is caused by a number of factors, but tightening work schedules leave people little time to cook.\nPeople are happy to buy chilled, ready-to-eat meals, and this trend will only intensify if market players invest in restaurant-level meal preparation, as well as the development of special subscription models that enable customers to forget about the need to order food.\nPrivate labels gain traction\nIn-house brands: development of private labels as a price-reducing factor People are eager to buy things produced in small batches as this allows them to feel unique.\nIn-house brands enable e-grocery players both to reduce their costs and to pay more attention to their customers, taking their requests and wishes into account.\nVoice order tech will lift e-grocery\nWe\u2019ll see e-grocers leveraging conversational platforms powered by voice recognition. There\u2019s no doubt that voice orders are convenient, and once it\u2019s possible to process them correctly, e-grocery will receive an incredible growth boost.\nThis isn\u2019t just about making voice orders, but also about getting audio answers to various questions that the users might have.\n \n\u201cAlexa, what will be your impact on e-commerce?\u201d\n   Voice is now a consumer channel, with conversational commerce expected to reach $40 billion by 2022. Does your organizational strategy include voice? It should.  \nDoubling down on security\nCustomers forced to leave private information about themselves and their purchases often doubt that this information will be used only for good purposes. Even with a certain amount of trust in the seller, there is always a possibility of leaks or stolen databases.\nUnderstanding this, sellers will continue to work on data storage security, guaranteeing their customers\u2019 complete privacy. Those who win their clients\u2019 trust will surely gain greater loyalty.\nWith the growth of e-commerce, the scope of online fraud is increasing. The way out of this for all e-grocery market players isn\u2019t just to keep working on the safety of online payments, but also to invest in raising their clients\u2019 awareness, teaching them to distinguish scam websites from fair merchant sites, where to be careful, and where to be cautious.\n \nWith data breaches everywhere, customer data management becomes crucial\n   Customer data management best practices allow businesses to fortify their commitment to positive relationships. The potential for growth, in commerce and trust, is massive.  \nKeeping up with customers\nIn general, all of the above e-grocery trends aim to increase focus on the consumer. Following them should provide the e-grocery market with the ability to keep growing and survive the inevitable growing pains, maintaining customer loyalty in the process.\nSuch trends as unique offers for each customer, the speed of delivery, and ready-to-eat meals will become real engines of growth for e-grocery, enabling the market to truly take off.\nAre you ready for the future of grocery\ud83d\uded2? Start HERE!","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/29\/e-grocery-trends-retailers\/#Article_Person","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/29\/e-grocery-trends-retailers\/#Article_Person_ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Vitaly-AlexandrovPortrait-scaled-e1627077639608-150x150.jpg"},"name":"Vitaly Alexandrov","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/alexandrov.vi","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/vitalexandrov"],"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/vitaly-alexandrov\/"},"dateModified":"2021-11-04T23:27:38+00:00","datePublished":"2021-07-29T05:01:50+00:00","description":"The adoption of e-grocery shopping has skyrocketed. Top e-grocery trends retailers should watch include AI tools, drone delivery, data security, and ready-made meals.","headline":"Drone delivery, unique offers, prepared meals: e-grocery trends to watch","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/29\/e-grocery-trends-retailers\/#Article_ImageObject","height":"630","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Egrocery-trends_1200x375-1200x630.jpg","width":"1200"},"mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/29\/e-grocery-trends-retailers\/","name":"Drone delivery, unique offers, prepared meals: e-grocery trends to watch","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\/07\/29\/e-grocery-trends-retailers\/#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":"07","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/07\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"29","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/07\/\/29\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Drone delivery, unique offers, prepared meals: e-grocery trends to watch","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/29\/e-grocery-trends-retailers\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]