Photo: RetailWire; Source: Instacart
A Bain & Co. study concludes the reason online penetration remains so low in the grocery category versus others is because in-store shopping is still far more convenient.
The findings based on a Google and Bain survey of more than 8,000 U.S. shoppers include:
- Planning: While e-commerce sites should make researching, list building and list sharing easier online, consumers remain “highly-dependent” on analog tools such as combing circulars and writing lists on paper.
- Browsing: In store, shoppers have been taught to quickly find the products they desire, discover and evaluate new ones, and make price trade-offs. Websites lack visual clues for browsing. Online browsing also still tends to produce irrelevant search results, unhelpful product recommendations and limited filtering options.
- Price comparisons: With visible discount tags, less expensive private label offerings right next to name brands, and shoppers’ understanding that lower-priced options typically sit near the bottom of shelves, comparing prices is easier at the shelf. Further, many consumers don’t trust prices online, either because they believe prices are inflated or because of challenges making price trade-offs in the moment.