The survey - commissioned by online grocer Door to Door Organics and conducted in March/April 2015 by 72 Point Inc – polled 1,100 U.S. online grocery shoppers aged 18 and over who had shopped online for groceries at least once in the previous 12 months.
The key findings:
- 54% said they had upped their online grocery spending over the past year; 42% said the amount had stayed around the same, and 4% said they had decreased their online grocery shopping.
- Overall, shoppers indicated that an average of 19% of their weekly grocery shopping was done online.
- Most online grocery shoppers still rely on multiple online and brick-and-mortar stores to complete their weekly grocery shopping, with just 13% of respondents saying a single store (online or offline) met their weekly grocery shopping needs, while 34% shopped at two stores during a typical week and 53% shopped at three or more online and/or offline grocery stores each week.
- Just under a quarter (23%) of respondents said they did not buy fresh grocery products (meat, fish, dairy, produce) online. Of those who do purchase produce and other fresh grocery items online, 57% said they had been disappointed by the quality or freshness of these purchases at least once in the last year.
- When asked what would make them feel more secure about the quality of fresh groceries when ordering online, 58% said knowing that the products were recently picked or packaged, while 51% said they would be more comfortable if the fresh products were sourced from a local farm.
- Additionally, 25% said they would feel more secure about the quality of fresh grocery products if they were purchasing them from a specialty online grocer.
- Respondents indicated they had on average only 82 minutes of free time every day and spent an average of 69 minutes each week shopping for groceries.
“Easing concerns about the quality and freshness of produce and other fresh grocery items has always been a top priority for online grocers, especially those like us who specialize in local and organic produce,” said Chad Arnold, CEO of Door to Door Organics.
“Selecting produce, for example, can be a very sensory-oriented experience – consumers like to touch, feel, smell and even taste their selections before purchasing. Online grocery shopping limits that initial sensory experience, so we do everything we can to ensure they experience that same satisfaction each time they open their Door to Door Organics delivery box.”
IRI teams up with Return Path to offer new insight into online grocery behavior, purchases
In other online grocery shopping news, Chicago-based market researcher IRI has teamed up with Return Path to integrate data from Return Path’s Consumer Insight business and other e-commerce transactional datasets to create a more comprehensive view of online activity in the consumer packaged goods industry.
With this new, integrated dataset, CPG marketers will gain a significantly enhanced understanding of e-commerce activity and the interaction of online purchasing with traditional brick-and-mortar transactions, plus a deeper awareness of the path to purchase, said IRI.
The alliance will give IRI clients new access to e-commerce purchase data, including product-level, basket and unique transaction information, such as pickup versus delivery. Click HERE for details.
Door to Door Organics
Founded in 2005, Door to Door Organics now operates in 13 markets and 55 cities. Read more about the company below:
Chad Arnold will be speaking in a panel session on the future of food shopping at Food Vision USA in Chicago in October. Get the full details HERE.
