Convenient grocery shopping is a top priority for time-pressed consumers who opt to shop across channels, a new study shows.
The first edition of the Shopper Stock Take 2016 from shopper research agency Shoppercentric found that shoppers visited an average of four retailers a month, using an average of two channels. Of the 1,000 UK adults questioned, 28% said they had done their grocery shopping online during the past month. Then, 82% said they had gone to big four grocer during the last month, while 43% had visited a discounter, 39% visited convenience stores and 6% opted to use local specialists.
Some 23% said they had shopped as and when they could, while more than a quarter (28%) varied when and how they shopped do so because they preferred to buy specific items in specific shops. But while one in four used mobile phones to shop, 67% rejected the idea of mobile-based promotions, or of scanning a barcode or QR code to get an offer.
Shoppers say they are less frustrated shopping online than in store, but they do still get annoyed. What frustrates them most is when the wrong items are delivered in their online order (39%), followed by the 36% who object to paying for delivery. Some 35% cited misleading or wrong promotional details. In the store, 54% didn’t like seeing closed checkouts at busy times, while 54% objected to rude staff and 49% to long queues.
Danielle Pinnington, managing director of Shoppercentric, said: “Each shopping channel clearly has its benefits and role in a shopper’s repertoire and with these choices now at their doorstep (or fingertips), they’re picking and choosing where and when they shop to suit their needs and wants on each occasion.
“Woe betide retailers who don’t deliver against expectations though, or don’t deliver their ‘point of difference’ versus other channels – today’s shoppers are a fickle bunch and they will vote with their feet! This year keeping abreast of shopper needs as they evolve is going become as imperative, as the market itself becomes more fragmented.”
