“The combined average order value for all three fulfillment methods grew 3 percent versus the prior year in August, which is below the current rate of inflation for the wider variety of grocery-related products that regional grocers often sell and extends beyond the Food-at-Home category,” said David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click. “For grocers, it is important to see the specific trends for each method as Pickup posted the highest gain of 6 percent, followed by Delivery, up 4 percent, and Ship-to-Home, up 3 percent, compared to a year ago.”
Trends for the two formats with the largest MAU bases, mass and supermarket, continued to diverge from each other in two of three key performance indicators. The mass MAU base surged by almost 20 percent in August while supermarkets contracted by more than 10 percent. Similarly, order frequency for mass rose in the low single-digits but fell in the mid-single digits for supermarkets versus the prior year.
“Online customer loyalty is increasingly elusive, and grocers should focus on creating more seamless experiences that keep shoppers — especially the first timers coming back,” said Sylvain Perrier, president and CEO of Mercatus. “By providing personalized recommendations and promotions, based on shopping history and personal preferences, grocers can strengthen connections with their customers that go beyond simply the transaction and increase the likelihood of repeat business.”
