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Today’s grocery shopper is convenience-oriented, digitally savvy and mobile-first. This changing shopper has resulted in a changing grocery landscape. The only way for digital advertisers to keep up with the shifting shopper is to evolve alongside them. But unfortunately, this is easier said than done.
Despite the fact that online grocery is the fastest growing product category online in the US, this growth isn’t reflected in media budget allocation. It’s time for digital advertisers to tap into this relatively untapped buying channel. Here’s how.
1. Build loyalty through reliability
Online grocery shopping in the US almost doubled last year. With the increasing number of shoppers buying groceries online, it’s time for grocers to build their base of loyal shoppers before that number increases even higher. Exclusivity is integral when it comes to online grocery.
To gain a better understanding of how exclusivity impacts online grocery, I took a look at Ogury Active Insights which you can see below.
Using Ogury Choice Manager, a GDPR and CCPA consent tool that collects reliable mobile user data, I discovered that 84 percent of grocery convenience shoppers are exclusive to one retailer. This is quite significant considering a similar Ogury Active Insights study that analyzed food delivery apps revealed that only 46 percent of users are exclusive. Marketers need to capitalize on the loyalty of online grocery shoppers while this buying channel is still relatively new.
And the only way to do that is by delivering on the service that shoppers expect. They want convenience and reliability. Shoppers will be loyal to brands they trust, and loyalty is the key to tapping into online grocery. As 62 percent of consumers are loyal to brands they trust, it’s important to begin building trust now.
2. Trust is built on choice
In order to build brand trust, digital advertisers need to empower their consumers with a fair choice. We want to reach our shoppers with brand messaging to increase awareness, but this won’t be effective if the shopper doesn’t want to be reached.
As 90% of consumers find targeted ads “annoying,” marketers must make sure their messages are only sent to shoppers who opt-in to receive brand messaging. Yes, online grocery shoppers choose that channel because they want convenience, but what’s even more key to success is consent.
Unless users are given an explicit choice of how their data is used by companies, they will always find your ads annoying, and in turn not trust your brand. Digital advertisers must ask permission with GDPR and CCPA consent tools that offer clear, concise consent notices, before collecting a user’s data if they want to build trust.
3. Build shopper loyalty with GDPR and CCPA consent tools
Building trust will build strong brand relationships and result in loyal shoppers. But as I mentioned, online grocery is still relatively untapped. To get ahead of the competition and ensure your brand is the one shoppers turn to, you need to understand the current landscape.
Digital advertisers should leverage mobile journey data to learn which competitor’s users are most active, and attract these users during moments of intent.
Above you can see a selected watchlist of three grocery apps in Ogury Active Insights. Ogury’s consented first-party mobile journey data reveals that engagement on the Pick ‘n Save app fluctuates, whereas Walmart Grocery and Intacart’s remain more consistent.
Leveraging mobile journey data will enable marketers to identify shifts in the competitive landscape, which can guide your online grocery strategy.
Online grocery is here to stay. By leveraging GDPR and CCPA consent tools which collect unique, reliable mobile user and behaviour data, advertisers will obtain brand trust and control in this new online grocery landcape.
Discover more about the impact of online grocery in the digital ecosystem by registering for my on-demand webinar. Want to learn how you can make Online Grocery work for you? Reach out to me directly at: Heather@ogury.co
Heather Nichols, CPG Partnerships Lead
