A topic I’ve touched on a lot lately is that while online grocery shopping is currently a small sliver of the overall grocery shopping pie, it’s growing. According to a new survey from facilities management platform ServiceChannel (h/t Grocery Dive), the holidays could provide a shot in the arm for that online grocery delivery growth.
From ServiceChannels’ The State of Grocery Report, of the 1,505 consumers surveyed:
- 63% of all respondents said they would be at least somewhat likely to order a fully prepared holiday meal from an online grocery delivery service if it were available, with Millennials and Gen X being the most interested.
- 32% of those who already shop online say they’d be very likely to order a fully prepared holiday meal from a delivery service.
Shoppers who regularly buy groceries online will lean on digital options even more heavily in the 2019 season:
- 50% of those who regularly shop online for groceries plan to order them online more than usual. Compared to other generations, more Millennials (47%) and Gen Xers (53%) plan to order groceries online more often than usual over the holiday season.
I, a GenXer, can’t imagine my GenXer wife ever agreeing to purchase fully prepared holiday meals online (though the idea is tempting). I’ll leave that one to millennials and GenZers. But the bigger, more key takeaway here is that people are looking for ways to alleviate the stresses associated with holiday meals and online grocery shopping has finally grown into a mechanism to help alleviate that stress.
Just look at recent moves from Amazon and Walmart to make online grocery shopping during the holidays easier. Amazon made two-hour grocery delivery free for Prime Members, and Walmart is rolling out its Delivery Unlimited service nationwide.
The question now is if grocery delivery will provide a great enough customer experience that people continue with it after the new year.
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