With the steep rise in online grocery shopping – due to the COVID-19 pandemic and less people able or willing to shop at physical locations – more and more grocers are adopting digital marketing as a way to transform the way their customers shop and what they are adding to their grocery carts.
During the height of the pandemic, 20-30% of grocery store businesses in the US shifted online . But although many physical stores have returned to business as usual, the trend and preference for online shopping have remained.
In the US, 46.9% of respondents said they plan to buy groceries online in the next 12 months, compared with only 25.8% in 2018 . Similarly, in Canada, the surge in online shopping is strong, with more than 1 in 5 people predicting to do even more online grocery shopping .
So what is it about online shopping that has consumers and increasing numbers of grocers across North America hooked? It all comes down to the power of convenience, and additional perks, made possible through marketing technology. In fact, according to Graphical Research, artificial intelligence (AI) – a key trend in digital marketing – is expected to grow in retail market value to over 10 billion by 2027 (4), and grocery delivery is a large part of that pie.
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Loblaw Companies Ltd. is a key leader and early adopter of online groceries. In fact, it amplified the online experience in 2019 with its move to offering products not available from its brick-and-mortar stores through a curated marketplace (something Amazon has been mastering since 2000). The marketplace offers shoppers greater access to what they want while getting customers to spend more through online orders.
Other Canadian grocers are also riding the trend wave, including Sobeys, Metro and Costco Canada, and profiting from it. Overall, digital grocery sales reached 99.64 billion across Canada in 2021.
Canada’s largest Asian grocery store, T&T Supermarket (acquired by Loblaws Inc. in 2009) took advantage of digital technology to meet customers on their preferred device – mobile phones. They launched their first mobile app in the spring of 2021, with over 10,000 products to choose from, in an effort to use technology to meet the growing demand of consumers seeking convenience and variety in their kitchens. The app helps customers get the latest promotions and sales, plus allows T&T to offer additional payment options such as WeChat Pay and Alipay. It also lets customers earn and redeem points, easily access coupons, and much more.
Advances in online marketing are powerful for attracting customers and keeping them engaged and loyal, said Mary Wang, VP of Noah Digital, and English and Chinese digital marketing specialist. “We’ve seen more and more traditional grocery brands (including Asian grocery stores) investing in eCommerce sites and mobile applications to embrace the current and increasing wave of online grocery shopping demand,” she said.
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Wang also commented that online marketing could improve overall customer experiences for grocery stores. “Trending e-commerce features allow for improved customer experiences, which simply cannot be replicated in physical stores. This can include things like saved shopping lists, product suggestions, personalized coupons and the use of mobile apps to deliver notifications such as special offers,” she said. “Just a few of these features can make a big difference to the bottom line for our clients.”
Wang added that other key marketing features include product videos, store maps, product comparison charts, ad retargeting and frequent buyer promotions.
Retail grocery stores that Go Digital have a massive advantage in offering customers enhanced options, experiences, and conveniences not even imagined a few short years ago. All indicators point out that the online grocery shopping trend is one that will not only stay but evolve and grow even more as time goes on.