UK consumers have been using their online grocery shopping for almost two years, since the pandemic started in March 2020.
In fact, 52% of consumers shop online for groceries more often in March than they did before 2020, while 7% die less often and 40% die roughly the same, according to What British Consumers Get From Their Shopping Experiences, a global collaboration between PYMNTS and ACI.
Get the Study: What UK Consumers Expect From Their Shopping Experience
There has also been a pandemic change in consumer habits when it comes to going to the store and paying there. 26% say they do this less often, while less than 1% say they do it more often. 64 percent state that they visit the store and pay about as much there as they did before March 2020.
Today, 32% of shoppers prefer to buy their groceries online. PYMNTS research found a large discrepancy in how consumers pay for the five methods being pursued. 63% of consumers use a mobile device to purchase groceries with a third-party subscription service and 22% use a laptop or desktop, which is the largest gap across all five purchasing methods.
Two factors are most commonly cited to influence this shift to online grocery shopping. 66 percent of consumers in the UK say they shop more groceries online because it’s easier and more convenient, while 64 percent say they do because they worry about contracting COVID-19 while shopping in stores.
The interest of shoppers to buy groceries online for these reasons varies between different demographic groups. 74 percent of Generation Z consumers cite simplicity and convenience as reasons for shopping for groceries online – a percentage higher than in any other age group. Seventy-seven percent of baby boomers and seniors say their fear of contracting COVID-19 leads them to shop for groceries online – a significantly higher proportion than any other age group.
Over: 44 percent of small grocery shoppers spend more in grocery stores IF THEY have access to loyalty programs, and an equal proportion say that loyalty programs alone determine where they shop. What UK Consumers Expect from their Shopping Experience surveyed 2,501 UK consumers to find out how best to use individual loyalty programs to increase their spending and attract new customers.
