How businesses can double online shopping in 4 months:
Strategies and success.
The goal.
Is eCommerce here to stay?
One national grocery chain needed to answer that question. Their retail world had changed so much…and in such a short period of time. So, what did the future of shopping look like for this brand, and their loyal followers?
To find out, our grocery client needed deep insights into shopping behavior: in-store, online, and curbside delivery. Only then could they create a perfect omnichannel experience. The data absolutely had to be accurate. Marketing, sales and production are all riding on their results.
Hang on, there’s more. They also needed competitive data. Because, if you’re trying to understand a major market shift, then you also need to talk with buyers at competitor’s locations. So, let’s look at how they did it.
Omnichannel shoppers DOUBLED in 4 months. But why? And, would it last…
Research was required.
It was time to talk to real buyers, in real time.
So, our grocery chain chose the only research provider to combine data + opinions. With an omnichannel panel, they’d be able to compare in-store, online and curbside data using App + Web insights. Good news: there’s an app for that.
Our approach.
We used Surveys On The Go® (SOTG).
As the nation’s largest, highest-rated consumer panel, SOTG locates consumers in real-time. Here, the app looked for qualifying panelists on our client’s app—and their competitors’ apps. As they went online, SOTG triggered a survey straight to their phones.
And, because it’s an app, the client got:
- eCommerce behavior: SOTG confirmed their use of a grocery app on their phone.
- Timely insights: The app captured 8 weeks of continuous Point of Emotion® insights.
- Accurate data: Panelists were spoken to in real time, and confirmed via the SOTG app.
The results.
- Over 8 weeks, we closely observed eCommerce behaviors. Shoppers became quite comfortable with curbside delivery—doubling their blend of in-store and online shopping.
- 64% chose to shop in-store: a 14-point decease.
- 28% chose curbside pickup: a 14-point increase.
- 22% chose the website to order: a 7-point increase.
- While people could find more items online, they struggled to assess the quality and freshness of certain products. This may have led to more in-store shopping.
- 66% found it hard to assess freshness; a 6-point increase.
- 55% struggled to find items in stock: a 4-point decrease.
- 28% found it hard to assess product size: a 7-point increase.
- Shoppers are loyal to this grocery chain. As time went on, we watched as even more buyers decided to go in-store to our client’s locations for missing items, rather than visit a competitor online.
- 76% were able to find most of their items online with this chain.
- 30% found missing items with another retailer online: a 14-point decrease.
- 19% went in-store to this grocery chain for missing items: an 8-point increase.
About MFour.
Better outcomes on MFour Studio™️: the first platform to behave like your consumer. Using the nation’s most downloaded, highest-rated, and only Apple-approved data collection and survey app, MFour has finally united market research and data science.
MFour Studio™️ is the only place for real-time app, web, and foot traffic united with validated consumer surveys for unprecedented insights to help you capture the modern consumer’s attention.
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