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Omnichannel, accelerated How eCommerce, click-and-collect, and brick-and-mortar are rapidly changing baked goods purchases.
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Think about how the grocery shopping experience has evolved over the past 12 years: Instacart was founded in 2012, and Amazon acquired Whole Foods in 2017. Now compare that with how the grocery shopping experience has evolved over the past 12 months. In early 2020 — prior to the pandemic — online spending accounted for 14.5% of grocery sales according to the Food Industry Association’s annual US Grocery Shopper Trends report, a significant increase from the previous year of 3 to 4%. In March and April 2020, however, that number spiked to 27.9%.
Constrained consumers are becoming more active and astute online users, tapping into these resources to source products, pricing and promotion to match their reduced spending ability.” Ailsa Wingfield, Nielsen Intelligence Unit, Global Connect
As Gary Hawkins, founder and CEO of the Center for Advancing Retail & Technology (CART) stated on a May 2020 episode of the American Bakers Association Bake to the Future podcast, “The pandemic has accelerated nearly everything that’s been happening across retail over the last several years.” There are considerable advantages to omnichannel grocery shopping. Online and click-and-collect streams allow consumers to do their research by comparing prices and finding the best product to fit their needs — especially for those whose income or spending has been upended by the pandemic. According to Nielsen data, in September 2020, 56% of online shoppers put careful consideration into every purchase at the point of sale, compared with 51% of brick-and-mortar shoppers. “Constrained consumers are becoming more active and astute online users, tapping into these resources to source products, pricing and promotion to match their reduced spending ability,” said Ailsa Wingfield, executive director, Nielsen Intelligence Unit, Global Connect. “They are searching and shopping more regularly online to obtain the best deals, without having to incur travel costs.”
www.bakingbiscuit.com 03/2021
© Serge Touch – adobestock.com
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