Who comprises the target market for online grocery shopping in 2022?
Is it simply those pressed for time or those looking for the best deal? Or is it those who value convenience over all else? Or is it the digitally native millennials who are comfortable shopping for absolutely anything online?
Well, it’s a bit of all of these. And some more.
The target market for online grocery shopping is actually quite diverse. It includes busy parents who don’t have time to go to the store, seniors who may find it difficult to get around, and millennials who are comfortable with buying things online.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at this market and explore the factors that influence the behavior of the consumers in this market. To better understand this market, we will also review the common reasons why shopping for groceries online is becoming increasingly popular.
Hopefully, this will give you some insights into this lucrative market so that you too can build products or services tailored to these consumers.
Understanding the Target Market for Online Grocery Shopping
The Target Market for Online Grocery Shopping is best understood by appreciating the reasons why people choose to do their groceries online.
These top reasons include:
- Convenience
- Saving Time
- Saving Money / Cost Control
- Comparison Shopping
- Greater Variety / More Options
- Personalization
- Dietary Restrictions
1. Convenience
Customers who choose to do their groceries online appreciate the convenience of being able to shop at any time and from anywhere. They don’t have to worry about finding time to go to the store, fighting for a parking spot, or carrying their groceries home.
Grocery stores that provide online shopping also allow for pick-up at a drive-through location or offer home delivery. When groceries are delivered to the customer’s home or workplace, it can save a lot of time and energy.
Online grocery shopping is also a great option for those with limited mobility. It can be difficult for some people to get around and carrying groceries can be difficult for many.
Online grocery shoppers also enjoy the convenience of being able to compare prices at different stores with just a few clicks. They don’t have to spend time driving from store to store looking for sale items or products that are on their shopping list.
Customers consistently rate ‘Convenience’ as one of the 5 C’s based on which they judge the quality of a supermarket. And it doesn’t get more convenient than ‘visiting’ the supermarket from the comfort of your living room couch.
2. Saving Time
Closely related to convenience is the saving of time when doing groceries online. Time is valuable and with the busy lives we all lead, many people prefer to do their grocery shopping online instead of going to the store physically.
Online Grocery Shopping can save time by:
- reducing travel time if groceries are delivered home (but not if they are picked up at the store after the order is placed online)
- not having to look for parking space at the store
- not having to search for items in the store (unless you know exactly where they are)
- not losing time walking around a gigantic store
- not having to wait in line at the checkout
- not losing time going from store to store to find the product you want
For many people, time saved doing grocery shopping means more time for themselves and their families. This can be a big benefit for many.
Most supermarkets will segment the target market for online grocery shopping based on the benefits of convenience and time saved and will have marketing programs touting these benefits.
3. Saving Money, Controlling costs
Another factor that attracts people to do groceries online is price and with it, the ability to control costs. In many cases, groceries are cheaper when purchased online. This is because stores do not have to pay for a physical location and can pass on those savings to their customers.
Furthermore, when buying online we are able to see the costs add up. That is, we have a clear idea of how much we are spending as the items are added to our carts. This makes it easier to stay within budget and avoid overspending.
So online supermarkets can segment their target market based on price to promote products at the right price point for each customer to make it more likely that the customer will purchase that product. Price segmentation is one of the best techniques businesses can use to maximize profits.
In addition, online grocery stores offer promotions that can help us save money on many of our favorite products. For example, when buying in bulk or purchasing multiple items of the same product we can clearly see the discounts we get.
This segment of the target market for online grocery shopping is therefore motivated by a desire to save money and keep their costs under control. They are looking for convenience, great prices, and promotions that will help them stay within their budget.
4. Comparison Shopping
Online shopping of any kind makes it easy to do comparison shopping. This is just as true when doing grocery shopping online.
We can easily find competitive prices and compare product availability across different online supermarkets. If you are looking for a specific item at a certain price point, there may be multiple supermarkets offering the same or similar products. When shopping in-person at a store, it is much more difficult to do comparison shopping because of time constraints and the need to go from store to store.
Similarly, if a grocery store’s inventory is low or if it doesn’t have in stock a product you are looking for, you can just buy it from another online store.
5. Greater Variety / More Options
One of the best things about doing your groceries online is the variety that can be available in the same store. For instance, if someone is shopping online for cereal, an online store will be able to offer a much larger variety of brands, flavors and sizes than would a physical store with space restrictions.
Another great thing about online grocery shopping is that it gives people more options. For example, if someone is looking for organic burgers and cannot find them in one online grocery store, they could simply browse the websites of other stores until they find what they are looking for.
With physical shopping, options are limited because no one wants to visit 10 different stores to find the product they really want. In fact, one of the main reasons why customers quit a store is the lack of variety or selection of products.
But when shopping online, getting access to variety and options is much easier because it is so easy to “quit” an online store and just “walk into” another one.
6. Personalization
For better or for worse, when shopping for groceries online the online supermarket knows exactly what you are searching for, what you are evaluating, and what you have put in your shopping cart.
Based on this data, it can proactively propose additional products to you. It could also offer you discounts on certain products that it seems you might like to try out or ones that you have been looking at.
Some people might find this level of personalization intrusive, but others may see it as a way to get even better service and value from their online supermarket.
In fact, one of the top things customers expect from any business is customization and personalization because it makes them feel special and that their needs are being taken care of.
The bottom line is that online grocery stores can offer a much more personalized experience than physical stores and many consumers find this valuable as it saves them a ton of time looking for the perfect product.
7. Greater Control over Diet
With traditional grocery stores, it can be difficult to find items that fit your specific dietary needs or preferences.
But with online grocery stores, you can target your search to include only the items that meet your specific criteria. This makes it easy to find exactly what you’re looking for, without having to waste time browsing through aisles of products that you don’t need.
For instance, if you’re vegan, you can search only for vegan products and not lose time going through products that you know you aren’t going to buy.
Similarly, if someone is looking for gluten-free food products, they can put filters in their search so that the online store only displays gluten-free products.
Likewise, if someone’s trying to lose weight, they may choose to filter products based on calorie content or sugar level.
When shopping in a physical store this process of finding products based on specific needs can be cumbersome at best.
So, if a supermarket designs its online store, helping people with different needs find what they want, they can get deliver better customer satisfaction and drive higher revenue.
Summary
As you can see from this article, there are numerous reasons why more and more people are preferring to do their groceries online. The benefits of convenience, timesaving, saving money, greater choice, and personalization based on one’s needs and dietary preferences makes this is growing market.
While the inexorable pull towards shopping for groceries online is real, we mustn’t forget the advantages of going to a physical store. When so many are spending so much of their time in front of computer screens all day long, it can be a relief, even a necessity, to push a shopping cart from aisle to aisle looking at products you have no desire to buy. This too can be therapeutic in its own way.
So, if you are thinking of entering the market with a product catering to the target market for online grocery shopping, bear in mind both the advantages and the disadvantages of doing groceries online. While the advantages are great and real, the disadvantages should not be ignored.
