Consumers Leverage Grocery Apps

Fifty-four percent of online shoppers have used a store app to order groceries, according to the “U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends: Online Shopping” report from the Food Industry Association (FMI).

In a blog post, Doug Baker, VP of industry relations at FMI indicated that there is an opportunity for grocers to capture certain demographics because consumers, particularly millennials and members of Gen X, are more accepting of native store apps than third-party platforms.

As grocery shoppers begin to use store apps more, the expectations of the app are higher. Roughly 41 percent of online grocery shoppers report that the quality of a store app is an important factor when determining their primary store.

“Younger shoppers, particularly Gen Z, are most likely to evaluate stores based on their apps,” wrote Baker. “This means the quality of your grocery store app may determine not only your current primary shoppers but your future primary shoppers as well.”

Online grocery shoppers are also using more digital tools on their shopping journey: 59 percent prepare to shop by looking for coupons or discounts on the store’s website or app and 33 percent use the same digital tools to look up product information, according to the report. Full Story