Analysis: How often do regional grocery customers shop online?

2/15/2019
Consumers who frequent regional grocery chains follow some distinct patterns in their online shopping habits.

According to several consumer studies conducted by grocery e-commerce platform provider Mercatus, only 26% of regional grocery customers consider themselves online grocery shoppers. Of that group, just over 50% have shopped for groceries online only once or twice in the past three months.

Other data also suggests that a large percentage of consumers who shop at regional grocery chains are not very active in e-commerce, at least when it comes to buying groceries. Seventy percent of shoppers surveyed have been grocery shopping online for less than two years, with 45% having started grocery shopping online just within the past year.

Looking more broadly at desired technology capabilities, Mercatus found that 42% of regional grocery shoppers expressed an interest in self-checkout, 21% said they wanted to compare shopping prices from mobile devices while in store, and 18% expressed interest in building mobile-friendly shopping lists from a grocer's website.

A subsequent consumer poll found that 63% of those who shop online do so for convenience, 56% for time savings, and 30% to better control spending.
X
This ad will auto-close in 10 seconds