[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/21\/grocery-retail-reality\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/21\/grocery-retail-reality\/","headline":"Grocery retail reality: Omnichannel is here to stay","name":"Grocery retail reality: Omnichannel is here to stay","description":"Grocery retail today is all about providing customers with personalized, omnichannel experiences. Consumer behavior has changed and grocers must adapt.","datePublished":"2021-07-21","dateModified":"2023-01-26","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/gemma-carver\/#Person","name":"Gemma Carver","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/gemma-carver\/","identifier":569,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c06f25593148a8c7e86bd252ec709031855901262fe2a69d306b79efa990d47a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c06f25593148a8c7e86bd252ec709031855901262fe2a69d306b79efa990d47a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/grocery-retail-ftr.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/grocery-retail-ftr.png","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/21\/grocery-retail-reality\/","about":["Consumer Products","Future of Grocery Retail",{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/industries\/","name":"Industries","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Industry","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q2976602"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/omnichannel-commerce\/","name":"Omnichannel Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Omnichannel"]},"Retail Trends, Data, News"],"wordCount":918,"keywords":["Grocery Retail"],"articleBody":"Grocery retail customers have flocked to e-commerce in droves over the past year. After such a challenging time, you want to\u00a0 breathe a sigh of relief and think, \u201cIsn\u2019t it nice to see customers returning to stores?\u201d Not so fast.True, customers are coming back. But their behaviors and demands have been forever changed. Many customers are choosing to stick with the e-commerce options they counted on during a time of great uncertainty.Now isn\u2019t the time to give up on your online ordering options, on-demand delivery, and curbside pickup. There’s no going back: this is grocery retail today.Nor will there ever be a time to stop supporting and improving your e-commerce experience. You\u2019ve already poured so much effort and resources into it. Now and into the future, your customer experience \u2013 online, in-store, or a hybrid of the two \u2013 needs to be fast, convenient, and personalized.      Hey big spender: Winning the omnichannel grocery\u00a0shopper                Omnichannel grocery shoppers spend more and are the real growth opportunity. Win them over by providing a personalized, blended online and in-store experience.      Grocery retail: E-commerce gives customers speed & controlSpeed has never been more important than in the past year. Customers, anxious about any amount of time spent in public, wanted to get in and out of your busy stores as quickly as possible.Though many of those anxieties have waned today, customers have remained deeply aware of the amount of time they spend grocery shopping \u2013 even online.E-commerce gives customers a greater amount of control over time spent browsing your online grocery store or mobile app, but only up to a point. It doesn\u2019t matter how fast a customer\u2019s fingers can tap if they can\u2019t find the products they want.Make checkout hassle-free\u00a0Some brands make the mistake of conflating speed with convenience, but there\u2019s more to a convenient customer experience than speed alone.Long ago, many grocery retailers installed self-checkout lanes with speed in mind, only to realize that customers struggled with the checkouts\u2019 cumbersome interfaces. The same could be true of your e-commerce experience.How intuitive is your mobile store or app? And do they offer customers ready access to the products they love and frequently buy?      Shopping under the influence: Woozy shoppers spend billions via e-commerce                Americans spend more than $420 on average for drunk shopping purchases. What are they buying? We've got the answers.      Grocery retail: The personal touchE-commerce is naturally enticing to customers because it has the ability to be so deeply personalized. Never before have grocery retail leaders had the opportunity to place personalized promotions and discounts right in the palm of customers\u2019 hands. (Clipped coupons don\u2019t count.)And remember \u2013 online grocery stores and mobile apps can offer excellent personalized experiences, but that experience can only go so far if it isn\u2019t part of an overall omnichannel strategy.Listen up & make it rightGrocery retailers are in a uniquely advantageous position because your customers will tell you exactly what they want.In fact, many customers will readily tell your in-store staff what they think of their shopping experience, particularly if it isn\u2019t meeting their expectations. Do you offer your e-commerce customers the same opportunity to provide feedback?Today, customers are saying that they like online shopping because it saves them time, but they admit to missing the experience of looking at and touching your products in the store. Customers love when a friendly employee loads their pickup orders into their car. But they aren’t so happy when they look at their receipt and see that several out-of-stock items were refunded \u2013 and no replacement offered.      How to master omnichannel in retail: 5 steps for CX success                Having an omnichannel strategy is essential for retailers today. What are some key steps for success? One UK retailer offers some lessons to live by.      Your peers and competitors are responding to these challenges and encouraging customer loyalty. They\u2019re placing their stations for in-store pickup close to products and seasonal displays, so customers can see new items in person and get some of that in-store shopping experience back.When customers purchase an out-of-stock item online, grocers are substituting it with something similar, even if that means replacing a store-brand box of cookies with the more-expensive name-brand variety.      7 online grocery trends for retailers to watch                Online grocery shopping is here to stay. Top online grocery trends include AI tools, drone delivery, data security, and ready-made meals.      Omnichannel grocery shopping drives loyaltyOn top of all this, grocers are offering their customers omnichannel experiences that encompass online and in-store experiences:Promotions that customers find in store are the same ones they\u2019ll find online.Rewards such as customer loyalty points for purchases made in store apply to future purchases online.Customer service reps online can help resolve problems with a product purchased in store, and vice versa.These omnichannel experiences are increasingly important as customers ask themselves one key question: Why should they visit your store, site, or app when another grocery retail store is closer, cheaper, or offers a better customer experience?Omnichannel experiences encourage your customers to keep coming back. The more they buy, the more you can customize their promotions and offer them rewards.The right technology can help your business provide true omnichannel experiences that support your shoppers throughout their entire customer journey.  Your customers are managing 85% of their relationships online. Omnichannel CX can provide everything they want \u2013 and more.Get started HERE."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2021","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"07","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/07\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"21","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/07\/\/21\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Grocery retail reality: Omnichannel is here to stay","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/21\/grocery-retail-reality\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]