Online grocery shoppers are less likely to interact with marketing and make impulse purchases

Online grocery shoppers are more focused in their approach to shopping than their supermarket counterparts and less likely to pay attention to shopper marketing, finds Evolution Insights’ ‘Online Food & Grocery: The Shopper Perspective’ report.

The report finds that over 75% begin their shop by going straight to their favourites or searching for items on their written list by keyword. Less than 1 in 5 starts with the special offers pages.

James Johnson, lead analyst, Evolution Insights comments “Our research shows that shoppers actively use their favourites and basket total to control spend and avoid temptation. And while more than half do visit the special offers pages later in their shop, we know from our accompanied shops that the majority only skim them briefly just before checking out.”

Attempts to attract shoppers with recipe and meal suggestions are also largely unsuccessful to date. The research finds that only 5% of shoppers interact with the recipe pages during their shop.

James comments “Special offers and shopper marketing is too often poorly targeted online. For online grocery shoppers, it’s more about relevance than aggressive discounting – a common complaint among shoppers is the lack of relevant offers and suggestions online. Retailers and brand manufacturers still have a long way to go to unlock the full potential of personalisation in online grocery marketing.”

Separately, the research also uncovers that over 45% of all UK grocery shoppers now shop online at least occasionally, and a further 20% have tried it in the past but no longer use it now. Evolution estimates the value of the UK online grocery market in 2010 at £4.2bn.