The COVID-19 pandemic-driven changes in shopper behavior are more nuanced than they appear. It’s no secret curbside pickup and “buy online, pick up in-store” (BOPIS) continue to flourish in these uncertain times. But the purchase activity warrants a closer look at the category level.
An online survey of 1,000 primary household grocery shoppers conducted in July 2021 by the Path to Purchase Institute examined shifts in behaviors such as online shopping and alternative fulfillment. Survey participants were asked overall questions about the products they’ve shopped for in the past month. They were then asked several questions about up to three product categories. The insights gleaned from their responses indicate that purchase preferences can vary across product categories in the grocery channel.
WHERE SHOPPERS CURRENTLY SHOP
1
Brick-and-mortar shoppers are more apt to report no short-term or permanent impact on shopping behavior due to the pandemic — across most product categories, according to the survey. More than three-quarters of bread shoppers in the survey (77%) shop the category in-store.
FAST FACT:
of grocery shoppers purchase their health/personal care and beauty items either sometimes online or always online.
51%
One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Proprietary Institute research reveals how e-commerce vs. brick-and-mortar shopping habits differ by product category
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SPECIAL REPORT:
Purchase Preferences at the Category Level
GROCERY DELIVERY PREFERENCES – THEN & NOW
2
Use of online ordering has jumped — currently only one-third of survey respondents said they do not order online compared to 44% before the pandemic began. “Some of these changes in the e-commerce landscape will likely be of a long-term nature — in light of the possibility of new waves of the pandemic,” said one respondent in the survey.
Curbside pickup is preferred most for the dairy and dairy alternative, fresh produce and frozen food categories.
FAST FACT:
TOP CHOICES TO RECEIVE ONLINE ORDERS
3
Home delivery is preferred for non-perishables, with 77% of online shoppers going this route for confectionery items and 76% for health/personal care and beauty products. Other categories scoring high for deliveries are prepared foods and pet food/supplies, each at 65%.
of shoppers overall prefer home delivery when purchasing groceries online.
FAST FACT:
38%
CHANGES IN KEY SHOPPING BEHAVIORS – THEN & NOW, PART I
4
Survey respondents affirmed that they are more apt to plan ahead, stock up when shopping, and be in and out of stores more quickly compared to before the pandemic.
Comparison shopping in-store using shelf labels is most common in the frozen food, fresh meat and deli categories.
FAST FACT:
MEAL PLANNING & TYPE
5
Shoppers’ meal preparation behavior has changed. Compared to before the pandemic, they follow more strict meal plans and also do more homemade cooking.
Changes in Key Shopping Behaviors – Then & Now, Part II
6
In-store shopping and brand loyalty both saw some decline compared to before the pandemic.
Understanding How Shoppers Live (and Shop)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Beverages (non-alcoholic)
Bread
Dairy/dairy-alt
Snacks
Fresh produce
Frozen foods
Fresh meat/seafood
Deli meat/cheese
Cereal
Canned goods/soups
Pasta/rice
Health/personal care/beauty
Prepared foods
Pet food/supplies
Cooking/baking supplies
Confectionery/candy
Alcoholic beverages
By ELIZABETH Fogerty
77%
23%
61%
39%
73%
27%
60%
40%
73%
27%
67%
33%
74%
26%
71%
29%
66%
34%
63%
37%
49%
51%
66%
34%
56%
44%
52%
48%
62%
38%
Physical store only Some/all online
69%
31%
67%
33%
67%
33%
Percentage of shoppers who purchased each product
Q. How do you typically shop for [product]?
Source: "Purchase Preferences at the Category Level" (Path to Purchase Institute, August 2021)
PREFERENCES FOR GROCERY DELIVERY
BEFORE PANDEMIC AND TODAY
Q. Please indicate how you preferred to receive your purchased items before the COVID-19 pandemic and how you prefer to receive your purchased items today when you purchased/purchase online. (n=1,000)
Source: "Purchase Preferences at the Category Level" (Path to Purchase Institute, August 2021)
27%
Before the pandemic
Today
32%
9%
44%
38%
29%
18%
32%
Deliver to my home
In-store pickup
Didn't/don't order online
Curbside pickup
Using a five-point scale between two characteristics, shoppers indicated their typical behavior before the COVID-19 pandemic, and what they do today.
Source: "Purchase Preferences at the Category Level" (Path to Purchase Institute, August 2021)
Before Pandemic
Planner
Impulsive
35%
16%
11%
15%
24%
42%
20%
7%
10%
20%
Pandemic Current State
In & Out
Browse
22%
11%
15%
32%
21%
32%
16%
11%
17%
23%
Stock Up
Few items
22%
13%
16%
23%
26%
27%
19%
11%
18%
25%
Before Pandemic
Pandemic Current State
Strict meal plan
spontaneous Meal Plan
13%
9%
20%
28%
30%
20%
17%
14%
20%
30%
More HomeMade from scratch
more Convenient/ quick and Easy
20%
13%
18%
20%
30%
26%
18%
13%
16%
27%
(as recalled in July 2021)
(July 2021)
Using a five-point scale between two characteristics, shoppers indicated their typical behavior before the COVID-19 pandemic, and what they do today.
(as recalled in July 2021)
(July 2021)
Before Pandemic
(as recalled in July 2021)
(July 2021)
Pandemic Current State
Before Pandemic
(as recalled in July 2021)
(July 2021)
Pandemic Current State
Before Pandemic
(as recalled in July 2021)
(July 2021)
Pandemic Current State
Using a five-point scale between two characteristics, shoppers indicated their typical behavior before the COVID-19 pandemic, and what they do today.
Before Pandemic
(as recalled in July 2021)
(July 2021)
Pandemic Current State
Before Pandemic
(as recalled in July 2021)
(July 2021)
Pandemic Current State
Brand Loyal
New Brands
21%
15%
13%
15%
35%
16%
11%
16%
18%
39%
Online
In-store
7%
6%
13%
59%
16%
14%
9%
12%
44%
21%
68
40
48
69
47
58
46
50
59
64
58
89
60
77
84
66
54
60%
42%
46%
62%
45%
53%
54%
50%
49%
61%
53%
76%
65%
65%
55%
77%
61%
38%
42%
35%
39%
40%
31%
35%
50%
41%
33%
36%
37%
42%
38%
45%
35%
46%
25%
30%
44%
32%
43%
40%
39%
28%
36%
36%
34%
19%
38%
16%
35%
21%
35%
Q. When you shop online for [product], which of the following is/are your preferred method(s) of receiving your items?
Source: "Purchase Preferences at the Category Level" (Path to Purchase Institute, August 2021)
Products shopped in past month
Home delivery
In-store pickup
Curbside pickup
Respondents who ordered online
Beverages (non-alcoholic)
Bread
Dairy/dairy-alt
Snacks
Fresh produce
Frozen foods
Fresh meat/seafood
Deli meat/cheese
Cereal
Canned goods/soups
Pasta/rice
Health/personal care/beauty
Prepared foods
Pet food/supplies
Cooking/baking supplies
Confectionery/candy
Alcoholic beverages
Source: "Purchase Preferences at the Category Level" (Path to Purchase Institute, August 2021)
Source: "Purchase Preferences at the Category Level" (Path to Purchase Institute, August 2021)
Shoppers are making choices based on their personal need in achieving a level of safety that is both comfortable and convenient.
The actions of checking inventory at home and writing out a shopping list fall in the top one and two positions, respectively, for steps used in product purchasing across all surveyed categories.
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Elizabeth Fogerty is chief strategy officer at Edge Marketing. In the world of borderless retail, Edge is conversion obsessed. Edge creates enduring bonds between people and brands through agility, brave thinking and retail prowess.
There have been plenty of things said about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on how shopping has changed. The enthusiasm and chatter about the growth of e-commerce, the flight to online purchasing and frictionless services retailers have adopted in response to a more safety-conscious shopper have been prioritized (or heard loudest). However, there is seemingly minimal depth of discussion on how different audiences and their COVID-19 response to has driven change in their points of influence.
Among primary grocery shoppers, four distinct lifestyle behaviors have come to light in Path to Purchase Institute’s research. Shoppers are evenly split between being two lifestyles that are more cautious and two that try to live normally, with some differences based on age, race and gender.
how they live
always make their purchases in physical stores.
This remains particularly true for perishables like bread, meat, fresh produce and dairy. A small percentage of more traditional stock-up purchases like health/beauty/personal care and baking supplies shoppers claim are purchased “always online.” Nonetheless, across audiences, more than half of their purchases in these categories remain in-store.
On the surface, all groups demonstrate similar shopper behaviors. The actions of checking inventory at home and writing out a shopping list fall in the top one and two positions, respectively, for steps used in product purchasing across all surveyed categories. As we progress one level deeper into the data, the behavioral and tactical preferences and product purchase drivers between the identified groups show some distinction.
The survey data indicated that the cautious shoppers are the ones embracing online shopping. Therefore, it will come as no surprise that digital tactics with online price comparison and looking for digital/online coupons delivered a higher than average preference among shoppers sheltering in place and those who go out if necessary, compared to the other two audiences. The product factors these two groups consider and weigh more heavily in their purchase decisions become important for a brand’s communication and activation planning. Across 10 or more categories, shoppers from the two cautious groups claimed that packaging size, package functionality, and the availability of new varieties and product innovation were more important than brand when making a product choice. The utilization of online tactics and more traditional in-store tactics seems to be in balance with these shoppers with comparing prices at shelf and reviewing the printed store flyer as steps used frequently across categories.
COVID-19 has created a more complex shopper landscape than ever before, one where a more engaged shopper resides. Shoppers are making choices based on their personal need in achieving a level of safety that is both comfortable and convenient. This desire has, in turn, caused them to adapt their shopping behavior across categories and embrace both digital/online practices and in-store influences.
So what does this mean to manufacturers as they adapt and plan for 2022 forward? Manufacturers need to invest more time in understanding the relationship of “how I live” and “how I shop.” By doing so and unlocking that relationship, it will allow brands to make strategic decisions and subsequent tactical choices — using both online and in-store vehicles — that are driven by purchase factors and preferences grounded in shopper understanding.
The increase in online purchasing driven by COVID-19 is undisputed. Perhaps surprising to many, in almost all categories studied, a majority of shoppers across all four lifestyles
• Black, Hispanic, or Asian
• GenZ, Millennial, or GenX
Still sheltering in place; spending time at home
15%
35%
13%
37%
Goes out if necessary; taking safety precautions
Doesn't let COVID deter from living life "normally," but tries to remain careful
• Women
• Boomers or Mature
• Caucasian
Personal lifestlye in relation to the covid-19 pandemic now
(n=100)
Doesn't live life any differently than before COVID
• Men
• Caucasian
Before the pandemic
Today
Before the pandemic
Today
Before the pandemic
Today