The landscape of grocery retail is rapidly changing, and the sector's future is firmly on the Internet rather than physical stores.
Last year, online grocery sales in the U.S. reached approximately $200 billion in revenue, which will keep rising. If your grocery store or supermarket is to thrive in these conditions, you must find a way to increase your online grocery sales.
For a legacy grocery retailer, switching to an ecommerce platform and targeting customers online might seem daunting. From familiar problems like inventory management and customer service to brand-new challenges like designing a grocery ecommerce app and managing order fulfillment logistics, there’s a lot to handle.
In this article, we discuss how to increase online grocery sales using a strategy like that of an experienced seller. We also answer all your questions about whether grocery ecommerce is profitable!
Let’s begin by looking at six simple strategies for your ecommerce store to boost your online grocery sales.
1. Develop a customer-friendly ecommerce platform
Most customers will be happy to make purchases from your online store if they have a positive customer experience. Here’s how your ecommerce platform can encourage them to drive online grocery sales:
User-friendly interface
You need to build a simple, easy-to-use UI for your grocery store’s mobile or web application. Visitors should be able to easily navigate the store since saving time is the main reason most consumers opt for grocery ecommerce. Your online store’s layout cannot be cluttered if you want your customers to make it their first choice for grocery shopping.
Mobile optimization
Online grocery shoppers tend to be younger than physical grocery shoppers. Millennials and Gen Z are the two most well-represented demographics in the online grocery user base. These younger generations are much more comfortable using their smartphones for shopping, with 65% of all Millennial shoppers using mobile applications to buy items online. This means your online store needs to be optimized for mobile users, with measures like fast loading times, minimal text, and strong visual elements.
2. Harness the power of data and analytics
The fastest way to transform your grocery store from a legacy business to a smart one is by constructively using your company and customers’ data.
Here’s how:
Customer insights
Every customer interaction with your online grocery store is fuel that can be used to enhance future shopping experiences. With customer data, you can make a record of past purchases, preferences, and shopping behavior. In turn, these insights can be further leveraged to delight customers with personalized recommendations based on their consumption patterns.
Inventory management
Tracking inventory is an age-old problem at most grocery stores. Poor inventory management can lead to losses for your store. Not having enough items on hand could lead to stock-outs, but storing too much when demand is low could lead to items passing their expiration date and becoming dead stock.
If you’re driving a digital transformation for your grocery store, then an essential part is investing in a software solution that gives you greater control and transparency over inventory management
3. Win new customers with marketing and promotion strategies
More than half of all U.S. adults (54.7%) have purchased groceries online at least once. This means the U.S. online grocery customer base is 141 million users and counting. You can use the following tactics to capture a larger share of this growing market.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
A simple and cost-effective way to raise awareness about your online grocery store is to invest in an SEO campaign to drive traffic. Localized SEO will help you find the customers most likely to convert since most consumers are looking for grocery stores in their proximity. Conducting keyword research to see what customers are searching for online and then matching those keywords to items in your store also helps the store remain visible.
Social media marketing
With social media, you can narrow down the profile of customers you are targeting with your ads. This lets you speak directly to your customer base and earn their trust and loyalty by announcing special offers on your social media platforms.
4. Deliver the best customer experience for online grocery shoppers
Ecommerce customers can be very fickle, and just one negative shopping experience could be enough to drive consumers toward your competitors. You need to ensure your customer service is top quality by implementing the following:
Streamlined checkout process
One of the most common reasons for customers to leave an online shopping trip incomplete, leading to high cart abandonment rates, is a poorly designed checkout page. If the customer doesn’t feel confident that their payment will go through, or the technological infrastructure fails at this critical moment, the entire checkout process becomes compromised. The best way to avoid this is by adopting a robust ecommerce platform that helps sellers build a streamlined checkout process to increase online grocery sales.
Excellent customer service
As mentioned, CX can often be the key differentiator between different online grocery stores. Ensuring your customer service team is always available to respond to queries and customer support tickets will help your store build credibility with shoppers. Offering live chat support and low waiting time on helplines are two critical elements of top-notch customer service in online grocery.
5. Reward regular customers with incentives and loyalty programs
Your online grocery sales will rely greatly on customers who return to make frequent purchases. Since these customers are even more important to your business than those who have not yet converted, you should give them benefits that make others want to join their ranks as well.
Discounts and promotions
Grocery prices have been steadily rising this decade through quiet inflation. With many U.S. shoppers stating their grocery trips end up crossing their budgets, offers like discounts and promotional campaigns are extremely attractive.
Loyalty programs
It’s much more cost-efficient to encourage repeat customers than it is to reel in new customers. The benefits of a loyalty program that offers discounts based on reward points will keep your existing customer base happy and coming back to your store to avail of their special benefits.
6. Embrace technology and innovation to boost sales
You need the right tools to drive up your online grocery sales figures. Investing in ecommerce technology and adopting best practices from the industry can help you serve more customers and scale up your sales operations.
Delivery options
Many online grocery shoppers want flexibility in their delivery options. Even though groceries should be purchased fresh, having several delivery options at different price points makes it more convenient for customers. This is especially true if they shop using the self-pickup/curbside pickup model. For customers who look forward to home delivery, stores need to partner with reliable third-party logistics partners who can help with order fulfillment.
AI and automation
All the data generated from grocery ecommerce can be confusing for a human to analyze. Artificial intelligence (AI) has no such limitations. AI programs designed to process large quantities of data can be used to increase efficiency in areas as diverse as product recommendations for customers and order management for retailers.
Conclusion
Your store can witness a sharp growth in online grocery sales, provided you choose the right mix of strategies to engage with your customers. Of the six methods listed above, several are sure to be a good fit for your grocery ecommerce business. Find which ones work for you, and watch your store's sales figures jump higher than you’ve witnessed before.
