FMI/Nielsen: Online will dominate grocery by 2022
Retailers who are ready to bridge the gap between their consumers and their stores through delivery or pick-up will be real winners in the coming years, because according to the “Digitally Engaged Food Shopper” study, in as few as five years 70% of consumers will be grocery shopping online.
The estimated $100 billion spend, which is equivalent to every U.S. household spending $850 online for food and beverage annually, may occur as soon as 2022.
“The grocery industry is currently in the age of digital experimentation, where the roadmap on how to navigate and achieve real and profitable growth continues to evolve,” Chris Morley, U.S. President FMCG and Retail, Nielsen, said. “While analytics will continue to be critical for retailers and manufacturers to understand the digitally engaged food shopper on a deeper level, a collaborative approach to balancing physical and digital sales strategies is the key to unlocking omnichannel success.”
The Food Marketing Institute and Nielsen shared these insights on Monday at the FMI Midwinter Conference in Miami, Fla. Building on the joint research findings issued in 2017, this set of insights examines what food and beverage manufacturers and brick-and-mortar retailers need to do to ready themselves for the rising digital grocery landscape, identifying six digital imperatives for omnichannel success.
Key findings from this year’s study show that omnichannel shopping has passed the tipping point with online grocery shopping on an accelerated path to industry saturation. The first year of research predicted that consumer online food and beverage spend could reach $100 billion by 2025. Today, FMI and Nielsen report that the pace of change and adoption has far outrun initial predictions, where the pervasiveness of online engagement could cut the timeline by as much as half.
The six organizational imperatives that can help retailers and manufacturers accelerate their omnichannel success are:
“People, process and technology are the trifecta for a true omnichannel collaboration model,” said FMI chief collaboration officer Mark Baum. “No matter the maturity stage, food retailers and their CPG business partners will find value in leveraging these six organizational imperatives as they respond for a more digitally engaged consumer.”
The estimated $100 billion spend, which is equivalent to every U.S. household spending $850 online for food and beverage annually, may occur as soon as 2022.
“The grocery industry is currently in the age of digital experimentation, where the roadmap on how to navigate and achieve real and profitable growth continues to evolve,” Chris Morley, U.S. President FMCG and Retail, Nielsen, said. “While analytics will continue to be critical for retailers and manufacturers to understand the digitally engaged food shopper on a deeper level, a collaborative approach to balancing physical and digital sales strategies is the key to unlocking omnichannel success.”
The Food Marketing Institute and Nielsen shared these insights on Monday at the FMI Midwinter Conference in Miami, Fla. Building on the joint research findings issued in 2017, this set of insights examines what food and beverage manufacturers and brick-and-mortar retailers need to do to ready themselves for the rising digital grocery landscape, identifying six digital imperatives for omnichannel success.
Key findings from this year’s study show that omnichannel shopping has passed the tipping point with online grocery shopping on an accelerated path to industry saturation. The first year of research predicted that consumer online food and beverage spend could reach $100 billion by 2025. Today, FMI and Nielsen report that the pace of change and adoption has far outrun initial predictions, where the pervasiveness of online engagement could cut the timeline by as much as half.
The six organizational imperatives that can help retailers and manufacturers accelerate their omnichannel success are:
- Align Organizational Structures for Omnichannel Success: Integrate digital offerings in parallel with brick-and-mortar operations;
- Address Discrepant Datasets: Scrub master data files for discrepancies; strength in data and accuracy is a critical component to successfully support online sale efforts;
- Integrate Forecasts to Increase Operational Efficiencies: Integrate online and offline forecasting so the right amount of inventory is available to meet orders through either channel;
- Optimize Shopper Insights: Bring retailer and manufacturer shopper information together into a single, comprehensive view of customer insights;
- Improve Marketing and Promotions: Optimize the management of omnichannel marketing and promotions; and
- Merge Digital and In-Store Shelf Capabilities: Manage the physical shelf and its digital counterpart to create a seamless shopping experience, where consumers see the same information both on or offline.
“People, process and technology are the trifecta for a true omnichannel collaboration model,” said FMI chief collaboration officer Mark Baum. “No matter the maturity stage, food retailers and their CPG business partners will find value in leveraging these six organizational imperatives as they respond for a more digitally engaged consumer.”