ASEDAS, Spanish Association of Distributors, Self-Services and Supermarkets, presents his VI Observatory of Electronic Commerce in Foodunder the title “Digital proximity: super convenience”. It was carried out in collaboration with the Complutense and Autonomous Universities of Madrid.
The study, prepared by the professors María Puelles, professor at the Complutense University of Madrid, and Gonzalo Moreno, associate professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid, analyzes the evolution of online food shopping after the 2020 health crisis and the resulting consumer environment. It is defined by a return to a convenience omnichannel focused on the supermarket format. The period studied extends from November 2021 to April 2022.
The major trends observed in past years are taking hold, although with some nuances. The growth of “mixed consumers” – who make their purchases in the online and offline channel – adds 2.67 percentage points compared to 3.19 the previous year; “offline only” buyers decreased 2.82 percentage points compared to 5.49 the previous year; and, finally, “online only” buyers are the ones that experience a certain stagnation, growing 0.16 percentage points compared to 2.29 in 2021.
Therefore, The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which triggered purchases in the online channel, has moderated in recent months, while the offliners continue their transfer to the mixed channel, in which convenience reasons prevail in terms of products, schedules, proximity, etc. It’s what the report’s authors have called “superconvenience.” In this context, the “3Co” theory (convenience, trust and cost) is still fully valid among consumers, whose online purchase is closely linked to their usual physical supermarket.
One remaining consequence of the pandemic is that older consumers (ages 55 to 64 and 65 and older), the most resistant to change, have lost their fear of technology: the penetration of pure offline decreases 8 and 10 points, respectively, in said age ranges.
VI Food Electronic Commerce Observatory. Digital proximity: super convenience
News: fresh and new channels
For the first time, the Observatory includes a breakdown of the purchase of fresh food in the online channel, which grows by 7.71 percent. 52 percent of consumers surveyed buy fresh online “at least occasionally”, surpassing for the first time those who never do so, who reach 44 percent. In this group of consumption, the fresh categories that are most in demand are fruits and vegetables (72.24 percent), charcuterie and cheese (71.85 percent), followed by meat and poultry (61.81 percent) and bakery and pastries (52.56 percent); and, further away, fish and shellfish (37.60 percent) and prepared dishes -especially frozen- (25.79 percent).
Even so, the categories of fresh products remain at the bottom of the “top of online shopping”, which continues to be dominated by personal hygiene products (81 percent), drugstores (76.65 percent) and packaged food (77.16 percent), all with positive variation rates compared to the previous year. However, the purchase of frozen products (3.62 percent less than the previous year) and pet food (35 percent less, although determined by the “I do not use” option) decreased.
The other great novelty of the Observatory refers to the fact that, for the first time, the year-on-year growth rate of consumer products and prepared food exceeds that of already mature sectors in the online channel, such as travel, household appliances or fashion. While all of them show negative rates, the purchase of mass consumption grew by 2.60 percent and that of prepared food (whether in the Horeca channel, in a supermarket or through apps) increased by 17 percent.
This growth of 2.6 percent now places the percentage of consumers who have already tried buying mass consumer products on the Internet at 57.25 percent. The trial rate of new users is distributed between the supermarket format (72 and 50 percent, either in the usual supermarket or in another), which remains in the lead; followed by pure players (75 percent) and delivery apps (65 percent); remote, traditional markets (24 percent) and producers (22 percent); Finally, Q-Commerce models close the list, reaching 19 percent. The differences in the use and adoption of online channels would be determined by age and lifestyle rather than by a generational change.
Cost of the shopping cart
The frequency of purchase has decreased in the offliners Y onliners pure and remains practically stable in the mixed ones. For its part, spending also decreases in offliners (2.76 percent compared to 2021) and in the onliners (9.63 percent), while it increases by 3.83 percent in the case of mixed. It is noteworthy that, despite the decrease in total investment by the onlinersspending per person in this group increased by 5.44 percent, reflecting a profile of the “only online shopper” related to people with high incomes and Premium purchases.
The conclusion is that annual spending depends on factors such as household members and income, detecting a drop in consumption at home after the opening of the horeca channel and placing the mixed consumer at the center of convenience shopping. This consumer, moreover, is characterized by grouping families of four or more members: large families look for convenience (volume and weight of the purchase) above other considerations, such as savings.
Advances in website usability
After years of experience in the online purchase of consumer products, surveyed consumers detect improvements in the websites. These, for the vast majority, are more intuitive and easy to use, offer more photos and more information, facilitating the choice of products and have a more complete and varied assortment. However, the number of users who detect progress in issues related to deliveries, schedules and customer service is below 40 percent. The objective, now, is to match the quality of service in delivery logistics with the quality achieved in the selection, purchase and payment processes.
The main Barriers to buying online continue to be related to the preference for seeing products in situ, especially fresh ones, with the cost of deliveries and the search for promotions and discounts; while advances are observed in confidence in payment. The main reason for choosing an online store is that it has the products and brands that the consumer likes and is used to, reinforcing the relationship with the physical store.
Perception of environmental impact
Environmental awareness is one of the fastest growing aspects compared to previous studies, when it was barely considered by consumers. Thus, 14 percent of those surveyed think that online shopping generates more waste and pollution derived from transport and packaging and 41 percent are concerned about the increase in traffic problems that deliveries may cause.