Why you cannot miss out on online grocery

The grocery industry has been one of the few sectors to stay largely untouched despite the rise of e-commerce, but that is beginning to change. As the industry changes, new technologies and models will play a big role in how brick-and-mortar grocery stores stay competitive. This is why you need to pay attention to online groceries.

Double-digit growth disrupting the largest retail category

At over $600 billion in annual sales, the grocery and supermarket industry is huge. Though online sales represent a smaller percentage of overall sales, that is quickly changing. According to a BI Intelligence report, online grocery sales will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 21.1% through 2018. Offline grocery sales are estimated to grow at only 3.1% year over year.

More customers are going online for their grocery needs

There are more ways to shop online for food and other household products than ever before. More than 1/3 of online shoppers expect to buy their groceries online, but 40% of those who purchased their groceries online reported that their primary grocery store did not offer online shopping and delivery. Stores who are not meeting this need are losing sales to other stores and services.

You may think that Millenials are the key demographic driving online grocery shopping. However, Gen X customers with families will be the main drivers, with Millenials close behind.

Big movers are making bets in online grocery

Large tech and retail companies such as Amazon, Walmart, Safeway, and Uber are investing in their same-day grocery delivery capabilities. Other traditional grocers such as Von’s, Stop & Shop & Giant, are getting involved by partnering with services such as Instacart and Google Express.

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Pathover helps automate all the manual processes to save time and cost so that any supermarket in the nation can offer their own online grocery shopping and free delivery to their consumer from their own website. Stores maintain their strong store brand while being able to use similar technologies as what Amazon or Walmart can build.

Join the movement at pathover.com or contact us at partnerships@pathover.com