2|trendsource
0%-25%26%-50%51%-75%76%-100%
Roughly one-quarter of respondents have shopped for
groceries online in the last three months. The first
thought that just popped into your head (don’t lie) was
“millennials.” That’s the perception, to be sure—
millennials are disproportionately migrating their retail
and grocery spending online.
But that’s simply not the case.
ONLINE GROCERY:
IT’S NO LONGER A QUESTION
OF IF, OR EVEN WHO OR WHY…
HAVE YOU PURCHASED GROCERIES ONLINE IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS
77%23%
YES
NO
ONLINE GROCERY SHOPPING ACROSS GENERATIONS
HOW MUCH OF YOUR OVERALL GROCERY SHOPPING IS
DONE ONLINE OR THROUGH A MOBILE APP
With the exception of the silent
generation (looking at you,
Grandma!), roughly the same
proportion of shoppers,
one-quarter, is shopping online.
Also, the percentage of grocery
shopping done online remains
consistent across generations.
If millennials have been implicated as the impending killer of brick-and-mortar sales,
our data indicates they have been framed. They are not unanimously abandoning the
physical for the digital—barely a quarter of them are even shopping online at this point.
Instead, their shopping stays in proportion with every other generation except silents
(still looking at you, Grandma).
Millennial 1
(43)
Millennial 2
(85)
Generation X
(146)
Baby Boomer
(109)
YES NO
76%74%76%79%
88%
Millennial 1
(178)
Millennial 2
(331)
Generation X
(601)
Baby Boomer
(526)
Silent
(51)
24%26%24%21%
12%
If millennials have
been implicated as
the impending killer
of brick-and-mortar
sales, our data
indicates they have
been framed.
3%
1%
1%
5%
4%8%87%
6%16%75%
6%18%75%
7%14%74%
(1687)
“
”
*Silents not shown, n<30
3|trendsource
IT’S A QUESTION OF WHERE
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT ORDERING GROCERIES
ONLINE OR THROUGH A MOBILE APP
WHEN PURCHASING ONLINE, DO YOU PREFER TO ORDER THROUGH A
LOCAL GROCER OR AN ONLINE/APP VENDOR
LOCAL GROCERONLINE/APP VENDOR
Millennial 1
(43)
Millennial 2
(85)
Generation X
(146)
Baby Boomer
(109)
58%
42%42%45%
53%
58%55%
47%
More than half our
respondents
indicated they
prefer ordering
groceries online
from a local
grocery store as
opposed to an
online vendor.
And one more thing millennials share with everybody else when it
comes to online shopping: It’s all about the convenience.
Millennial 1 Millennial 2 Generation X Baby Boomer
(43)(85)(146)(109)
Convenience 60% 78%71% 70%
Price/Value 12% 4%16% 11%
Specific Brand 5% 4%1% 2%
Rewards 5% 2%1% 0%
Product Quality/Availability 9% 5%3% 10%
Customer Experience 0% 2%1% 2%
Customer Service 0% 0%1% 1%
Sustainable/Responsibly-
sourced products 0% 0% 0% 2%
None of the above 9% 6% 4% 3%
Usually, online delivery means one
thing: Amazon. But for local
grocers concerned about
Amazonian encroachments, there
is some hope—more than half our
respondents indicated they prefer
ordering groceries online from a
local grocery store as opposed to
an online vendor.
Indeed, this should give grocers hope, but it should also be a kick in the pants:
if grocers are not already building out their online operations, time is of the
essence! With its recent efforts to acquire Whole Foods, Amazon has stepped
right into a local footprint and there’s no telling what tricks it has up its sleeve
now that it’s put its entire weight behind grocery delivery. But for the time being,
the opportunity is there to establish a beachhead in grocery delivery.
*Silents not shown, n<30
*Silents not shown, n<30
“
”
“
”
4|trendsource
AND HOW
WHICH ONLINE/APP VENDOR DO YOU PREFER TO USE (183)
Amazon is already asserting
its dominance over
third-party apps across all
generations of shoppers.
RANKING 12345
WHEN SHOPPING ONLINE, OR THROUGH AN APP, HOW DO YOU FIND
ITEMS TO PURCHASE PLEASE RANK MOST USED METHOD, 1, TO LEAST
USED METHOD, 5. (389)
Here’s where it really gets interesting. We know shoppers shop online, we know where they do it. But
now it’s time to ask how.
We asked shoppers to describe their online process—how do they find the items they are shopping
for and place them into their virtual cart It’s the kind of thing that’s easy to overlook, but for grocers
rolling out and optimizing online shopping environments, it provides invaluable intel.
Search Bar
Order History
Featured Items/
Sales
Aisle/Category
Recommendation
13%16%15%22%34%
18%13%21%24%23%
18%11%23%27%21%
20%30%21%16%14%
31%31%20%11%7%
Amazon is already asserting
its dominance over
third-party apps across all
generations of shoppers. In
fact, more than
three-quarters of all
respondents prefer Amazon’s
grocery services—whether
through Prime Now, Amazon
Pantry, or Amazon
Fresh—over its nearest
competitors, Jet and
Instacart, by 73%. For third
party apps, there’s only one
Amazon; at this point, all the
rest are tributaries.
77%
4%
4%
2%
2%
2%
1%
1%
0%
“
”。