Appetite for change; 74% of online grocery shoppers prioritize finding new products

• 41% of all British grocery shoppers say they have shopped online in the last 4 weeks
• 3 in 5 claim to have purchased a new product in the last month
• To help their product discovery, 66% of online grocery shoppers want free samples with their groceries

LONDON, UK, October 11, 2018 — Research commissioned by Bazaarvoice, in partnership with IGD, finds that with the growth in online grocery shopping, three-quarters (74%) of online grocery shoppers are now focused on changing their basket of goods to discover new products.

According to IGD, 41% of all British grocery shoppers say they have shopped online for food or household groceries in the last 4 weeks with a claimed average basket value of approximately £70, highlighting the appetite to buy food online.

Among 1,900 grocery shoppers, including 1,100 shoppers who have shopped online for their groceries in the last year, nearly three in five claim to have purchased a new product in the last month. This is most evident in impulse categories such as savoury snacks (30%) sweet snacks (29%) and bakery goods (26%).

Digital’s pace of change meets grocery

Online will continue growing rapidly — 60% of all British grocery shoppers say they will shop online and get their groceries delivered to home in the next two to three years – growing the value of the online channel by over 50% in the next five years. By comparison, the value of supermarkets will grow by 7.7%.

So far, the sector has been focused on embedding the loyalty of online shoppers — 32% of online grocery shoppers say they subscribe to an online grocery delivery saver scheme, compared to 26% in 2015. However, 36% of these shoppers now express they are more loyal to brands that offer them free product samples.

Sophie Light-Wilkinson, VP Marketing, EMEA, Bazaarvoice, comments, Two-thirds of online grocery shoppers say they are interested in receiving free samples with their regular online grocery shop. This not only provides significant opportunity for brands to get their products into shoppers’ hands, but also to collect feedback and content to use as advocacy ahead of a full product launch.

Reviews provide significant opportunity to drive growth

With online growing and shoppers wanting to try new products, reviews could be significantly more important — 40% of all grocery shoppers say they like reading review for other products and should read them for food and grocery products as well.

Vanessa Henry, Shopper Insight Manager, IGD comments, Grocery retail is seeing an unprecedented amount of change, driven by changing shopper expectations that can be met by the growing investment in the online grocery channel. However, a challenge for many companies is driving awareness of their products online. Reviews, along with the other ‘brilliant basics’ such as product imagery, product descriptions, search functionality and targeted media can help to ensure new products are launched successfully.

Change is on the horizon as 81% of shoppers claim to have read other reviews in the last 6 months and grocery is already the fifth most common use case of customer reviews after restaurants, hotels, and film & TV. Two fifths of shoppers admit they read reviews for other products and so they should read them for food and grocery.

Of course, the entrance of online customer content and reviews into the path to purchase does also mean Amazon has to be a consideration here. A fifth of grocery shoppers claim to have used Amazon for some part of their food and grocery shopping in the last 4 weeks.

Sophie Light-Wilkinson concludes, Ratings and reviews help customers make informed purchase decisions, they also assist in product discoverability and give brands and retailers valuable product insights.  The grocery market has a great opportunity to amplify the voice of the customer to create more meaningful shopper experiences which will ultimately result in increased basket value and customer loyalty.

The full research report will be shared at this year’s IGD Digital Commerce on October 17^th during the afternoon breakout session ‘How to activate your NPD online’. To find out more please visit the IGD Digital Commerce site where you can reserve tickets for the two-day event starting October 16th.

Methodology

IGD survey on behalf of Bazaarvoice of over 1,900 British grocery shoppers, including 1,100 online grocery shoppers, ShopperVista monthly tracking survey of 2,000 British grocery shoppers on average, and in-depth interviews with grocery shoppers.

About IGD

IGD is a research and training charity which sits at the heart of the food and grocery industry. It has a trading subsidiary that provides commercial services. The profits from these commercial services fund the charity.

About Bazaarvoice

Bazaarvoice connects brands and retailers to consumers, so that every shopping experience feels personal. From search and discovery to purchase and advocacy, Bazaarvoice’s solutions reach in-market shoppers, personalize their experiences, and give them the confidence to buy. Each month in the Bazaarvoice Network, more than 900 million consumers view and share authentic content including reviews, questions and answers, and social photos across 5,700 brand and retail websites. Across the network, Bazaarvoice captures data that powers high-efficiency digital advertising and personalization with unmatched relevance.

Founded in 2005, Bazaarvoice is headquartered in Austin, Texas with offices in North America, Europe, and Australia. For more information, visit www.bazaarvoice.com.