Our proprietary research examines opportunities for brands to influence in-the-moment buying decisions in the grocery category, including via online recipes.
Study
As the evolution of the shopping journey continues and CPG brands look for ways to meet consumers’ needs in real time in the midst of daily living, contextual commerce offers opportunities for authentic engagement. But how viable are these in-the-moment shopping opportunities in the grocery category?
Special Report
Commerce
Contextual
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While 89% referenced direct purchases through a retailer or brand website or app, 52% said they used varying forms of contextual commerce. This includes 23% who purchased directly via social media and 22% who shopped through a content website or blog. Some respondents referenced making purchases within video games or streaming platforms (17%), through a smart device such as a Smart TV or Smart Fridge (12%) or via a voice assistant like Alexa (11%).
When it comes to exploring digital resources for purchase inspiration, survey respondents referenced Amazon followed by retailer or brand websites/apps. Around half of shoppers noted browsing content/lifestyle websites or blogs for inspiration at least some of the time. Looking deeper into browsing habits, nearly 1 in 5 shoppers admitted frequently clicking on product links or ads they come across online or via social media.
Products that fit a specific need (57%) or that offer a promotion or sales price (57%) most often drive the click response. Other motivators include introductions to new and unique products (42%), attractive product images or videos (41%) and previously considered products or brands (39%).
With contextual commerce aimed to leverage in-the-moment purchases, approximately 7% of respondents said they make purchases most or all of the time. However, 44% said they make impulse purchases some of the time, demonstrating a segment to gain traction with and opportunities for more sales conversion. A few factors rise to the top as drivers for impulse shopping, including a product fitting a specific need (49%), something unique and eye-catching (40%) or the convenience of purchasing the product online (37%). When aligning marketing strategies with key target demographics, keep in mind the convenience of purchasing online serves as a more impactful driver for Gen Xers and Baby Boomers.
Examining contextual commerce habits across CPG categories, our survey found that online shoppers engaged in more purchase activity through content/lifestyle websites or blogs compared to social media. Still, respondents said they use social media platforms once a day or more often — with 70% active on Facebook and 64% on YouTube. Gen Z reports higher levels of daily usage across all platforms, except Facebook. While they may not be engaging in contextual commerce at high rates on social media yet, they are consuming social content.
This means brands need to explore ways to entice purchasing. No matter the contextual commerce channel, the fashion and apparel category currently ranks highest among purchase activities while respondents referenced consumable items as the least often purchased.
What keeps consumers from making contextual commerce purchases? Whether via social media or content/lifestyle websites or blogs, trust and familiar habits present barriers to success. The largest percentage of respondents noted data privacy concerns, followed by the preference to shop directly with retailers or brands. Respondents also referenced a lack of trust in the brands or products they come across on social platforms and the ability to find a better price elsewhere.
Shopper Engagement with Contextual Commerce
While this survey ranks the grocery category last based on respondent feedback on current contextual commerce habits, relevant opportunities exist for increased engagement. Why? Because of online recipes.
When looking for recipes or meal inspiration, consumers seek information online. However, their resources vary. Many begin with a general internet search, but food blogs or recipe sites, YouTube, Facebook and Pinterest top the list of go-to resources. Connecting shopping needs to recipe searches, the survey delved deeper to understand how consumers evaluate recipes based on ingredient needs. Respondents demonstrate some flexibility with 58% saying they often or always look for recipes that use some of the ingredients they have on hand while being open to buying others. Meanwhile, other shoppers (37%) consider a recipe regardless of the number of ingredients they need to purchase.
Browsing and shopping behavior reiterate ample opportunity for more contextual commerce success in the grocery category. With 48% of respondents confirming they enjoy browsing for recipes or looking for meal inspiration in their downtime, brands and retailers can make contextual connections. Furthermore, 36% of shoppers said they reference online recipes while they are shopping to make sure they are purchasing the proper ingredients and 34% often use recipes to generate their grocery shopping lists.
From an awareness perspective, over half of the shoppers surveyed said they enjoy seeing links and ads for grocery items when viewing recipes online and are open to purchasing those items. Still, they are more likely to buy the product on their next trip to the grocery store (36%) compared to completing the purchase online (17%). When it comes to clicks, 45% of shoppers said they click on links or ads for grocery items within online recipes at least occasionally — and 35% did so rarely, highlighting an opportunity to better connect with these consumers to increase engagement.
Looking at sales conversion, 2 in 5 shoppers have purchased grocery items online directly through an online recipe in the past few months. However, consumers are still more likely to shop in-store for the ingredients needed for the online recipe. In both cases, they reference a willingness to buy ingredients from a new or different brand. Furthermore, recipes influence the purchase of complementary items, such as cookware. This includes 65% of online shopping and 58% of in-person grocery shopping. In particular, Gen Z and Millennials report higher incidences of these supplementary purchases.
Factors that influence online grocery purchases via an online recipe include being more convenient than going to a store (38%), the recipe clearly showing how to use the item (34%) and a product being unique or interesting (31%). When asked to consider the benefits of purchasing a grocery item directly through an online recipe, respondents continuously reference ease, speed and convenience. They acknowledge this path to purchase saves steps, streamlining the shopping and cooking process. Furthermore, it eliminates the need to remember all of the ingredients and avoids the product scavenger hunt at the grocery store.
“You get the exact ingredients you need without having to go back and look at the recipe again,” said one respondent. “You don’t need to take a picture or write everything down, and you are less likely to forget something.”
Another shopper added, “It saves me time from having to write down a recipe and all the ingredients, get in the car, go to the grocery store, and then try to find the items. I like to know they’re being delivered to me, or I can pick them up directly.”
Results also matter to many recipe browsers, so they see the benefit of purchasing the specific products used by the author of the recipe. They want their time in the kitchen to yield the same exact results.
While some respondents haven’t made purchases linked to recipes, they seem open to the concept. “This is a novel approach that I hadn’t encountered before,” said one respondent. “Being able to purchase the groceries I need through online recipes makes it easy and shows the many different brands available.”
Even with consumers open to in-recipe contextual commerce, a variety of factors deter shoppers. First and foremost, 43% of respondents said they prefer to shop for groceries in the physical store. This is especially true for Gen Z and Baby Boomers. Some respondents noted an immediate need that couldn’t wait for shipping (34%) and others referenced not being ready to make the recipe (30%). In addition, high delivery or service fees (31%) also deter online purchasing decisions. Respondents’ comments also reiterated trust issues, from data security to not wanting someone to select grocery items for them.
As brands and retailers look to convert grocery sales via contextual commerce, respondents revealed important considerations. Ease of completing the transaction topped the list (70%) followed by shipping speed (65%), having the lowest price (63%) and being a trusted brand (63%).
When it comes to brand awareness, in-recipe contextual commerce makes an impression. The majority of shoppers said this contextual connection creates a meaningful impact on their brand perception and their willingness to purchase the brand in the future. This is particularly true for Millennial and Gen X shoppers.
Contextual Commerce in Grocery
As brands and retailers look for ways to increase sales via contextual commerce, experience matters. In addition to leveraging ease and convenience and finding a way to resolve the factors deterring consumers, there are opportunities for deeper connections.
Survey respondents consistently said they experience enjoyment and satisfaction with online recipe engagement — and tapping into the positive emotional association provides the opportunity for brands to better connect with consumers and influence buying decisions.
Enhancing the Contextual Commerce Experience
Shopper
New research from Chicory and the Path to Purchase Institute validated that as shopper behaviors have evolved, in-recipe, contextual commerce is a major growth opportunity for the grocery industry.
Online grocery shopping is now deeply ingrained in the routines of consumers. An impressive 7 in 10 shoppers engage in online grocery shopping on a weekly basis. They no longer rely solely on traditional in-store experiences or manual meal-planning tools. Eighty-two percent to 85% of consumers browse food blogs and recipe sites for meal inspiration or reference online recipes while shopping, with more than one-third doing so often or always.
Brands and retailers are using contextual commerce to capitalize on these consumer trends, successfully reaching grocery shoppers off-platform and driving brand loyalty. Here’s how …
Targeting shoppers using relevant content and offerings
Personalization matters: more than 30% of Gen Z (and 26% of Millennials) said they were more likely to click a link if it was personalized to their browsing or shopping history. However, there’s an assumption that you need consumer data for personalization. In reality, effective personalization focuses on the relevance of the content surrounding the ad and the ad itself, ensuring the message resonates with the viewer’s current — not past — behaviors.
Leveraging contextual commerce, brands and retailers can deliver highly relevant, curated meals or product bundles to convenience-seeking consumers. This alleviates the consumer from the burden of meal planning and promotes larger basket sizes. We discovered that 65% of online shoppers (and 58% in-person) buy complementary items when shopping for ingredients for a recipe, like a cupcake tin alongside baking ingredients — and this is more common among Gen Z and Millennials.
Simplifying the online shopping experience
Ease and convenience are the top reasons why people shop online, and nearly three-fourths of shoppers care about the ease of completing a transaction. The right contextual commerce platform will guarantee a simple add-to-cart and checkout process for your customers — one that seamlessly extends your brand’s digital experience.
The top reason consumers don’t shop online is that they prefer to shop in-store (41%), but another 12% are deterred by fears of online data security issues. Invest deeply in building customer trust through a strong digital presence, and when mapping out your advertising plan, prioritize privacy-conscious advertising strategies, like contextual commerce, which uses zero first-party data to target consumers.
Tapping into the meal-planning mindset
Contextual commerce allows brands to engage shoppers right before the point of sale when they’re in an active mindset. This mindset is key to driving conversions. Fifty-two percent of consumers have recently made one or more online purchases via contextual commerce.
Unlike impulse purchases in other shopping verticals, grocery items are usually bought as part of a larger shopping trip, making it imperative to reach shoppers when they’re thinking about their entire list or gathering meal inspiration. In doing so, brands can influence purchases both online and in-store — 78% of consumers report that they are more likely to buy a brand in-store after seeing it in an in-recipe ad.
Driving Sales and Awareness Using Contextual Commerce
Contextual commerce drives purchases and builds brand affinity. After seeing a contextual commerce ad, 78% of consumers remember the brand the next time they’re shopping and consider purchasing from that brand. Furthermore, 79% say that contextual commerce ads positively impact their perception of the brand, validating the effectiveness and non-intrusive nature of contextual advertisements.
To learn more about contextual commerce and how Chicory can help your brand reach ready-to-buy shoppers, visit Chicory.co.
Driving Grocery Sales and Brand Awareness
As the chief revenue officer (CRO) at Chicory, the leading contextual commerce advertising platform, Meghan Howard is responsible for formulating and executing the company’s growth strategies and overseeing revenue operations. Howard brings approximately 20 years of experience to the role, having previously served as Chicory’s vice president of sales and account management for more than four years, and having cultivated her career at Valassis.
About the Author
By Meghan Howard
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This report offers insights on leveraging contextual commerce in the grocery category to influence the path to purchase.
purchased direct through retailer/brand website or app
used varying forms of contextual commerce
purchsed directly through social media
23%
52%
89%
IN Collaboration with
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By Jenny Rebholz
These habits are consistent across Gen Z, Millennials and Gen X consumers, reflecting opportunities for brands to connect with a wide spectrum of shoppers and influence their in-the-moment buying decisions.
shopped through a content website or blog
22%
The Path to Purchase Institute’s September 2023 “Contextual Commerce Shopper Study,” conducted in collaboration with Chicory, gathered responses from 1,000 household purchase decision-makers (ranging in age from 18-56) who self-reported shopping online for groceries once a month or more often. In fact, they shopped relatively frequently, with 69% of respondents reporting that they shopped online for groceries at least once a week, while more than half shopped online at least weekly for prepared food or beverages. Furthermore, respondents anticipate shopping online more often for groceries and prepared food and beverages over the next six months.
Looking closer at online purchasing habits, around half of consumers acknowledged making one or more online purchases via contextual commerce in the past few months.
Commerce
Contextual