Shoppers want personalized recommendations from online grocers
A new survey reveals the types of features and services that draw shoppers to online grocery retailers.
According to the results recent poll of 1,000 U.S.-based adults about their grocery sentiments emailed to sister publication Chain Store Age from search-as-a-service platform Algolia, a leading 30% of respondents said they would most like their online grocer to provide personalized deal recommendations based on what’s in their cart or past purchase history.
Another 17% said more convenient pickup/delivery options and 16% said personalized recipe suggestions based on what’s in their cart or past purchase history. Interestingly, 38% of respondents said they don’t need any additional online grocery offerings.
The survey also asked respondents to reveal their biggest online grocery shopping pain points:
- Produce selection (40%).
- Inability to find what you are looking for. (30%)
- Incorrect selections (27%).
- Inconvenient pickup/delivery options (18%).
- Impersonal/irrelevant deal and/or recipe recommendations (14%).
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Close to three of all respondents (28%) reported no significant issues with their online grocery shopping experience.
Recipe inspiration and shopping
The survey also asked respondents about their habits in discovering and shopping for recipes. Two in three (67%) adjust their recipes and grocery shopping habits based on the season, including 77% for those with kids.
Popular fall seasonal events for baking and cooking include Halloween parties (46%), football tailgates (37%) and “Friendsgiving” get-togethers (35%). When looking for baking and meal inspiration for these events, 45% of respondents say they find their fall baking or meal recipe inspiration on social media, with 22% looking specifically on TikTok, including 53% of 18-24 year-old respondents.
Once respondents find their cooking and baking inspiration, seven in 10 (72%) say they mostly grocery shop. Another 29% use online grocery services, with 15% ordering online directly from their grocery store and picking items up and 14% using a third-party delivery platform.
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These results were skewed based on age, with more than 90% of respondent groups 55 and up shopping in person and 43% of respondents 25 to 44 mostly buying groceries online.
In addition, one in five (19%) respondents think the wider adoption of AI by retailers will make grocery shopping experiences more convenient.
Survey takes another look at online grocery pain points
According to a recent survey of 5,000 U.S. adult consumers conducted by Wing, the on-demand drone delivery provider powered by Google’s parent company Alphabet, the biggest pain points for in-store grocery shoppers are crowds (45%), long lines (20%) and unavailable products (17%).
The biggest pain points for respondents when getting groceries delivered are expensive pricing (37%) and unavailable products (20%).
This story originally appeared on Chain Store Age.
