Omni-Channel Grocery Shoppers Key to Unlocking Additional Growth for Retailers, Data Analysis Finds

Research from Symphony RetailAI shows online grocery shoppers can add nearly 2% in additional total revenue for retailers

Symphony RetailAI, a leading provider of end-to-end, integrated AI-powered merchandising, marketing and supply chain solutions for retailers and CPG manufacturers, announced the findings of an analysis of nearly 600 million shopper transactions to determine the impact of today’s omni-channel grocery shopper. A key finding is that online household penetration now reaches 6.4%, up 60% from pre-pandemic levels, and households that shop both in-store and online are growing at a rate of 10% year-over-year.

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The analysis found that omni-channel customers are more loyal than their in-store-only counterparts. Researchers also found that those who adopt omni-channel shopping habits generate incremental spend but their level of churn can be huge if retailers don’t provide an excellent customer experience from the first visit.

Omni-channel drives loyalty

Researchers found that across all key measures of loyalty – both primary shopper retention and positive migration toward being more loyal – omni-channel customers outperformed store-only customers. In times of declining shopper loyalty and increased competition, this demonstrates that clicks are extremely powerful to retain and augment customer loyalty better than bricks alone.

This presents a clear picture of how much more strategic it is to effectively engage omni-channel shoppers.

Shoppers – omni-channel or not – make or break online grocery

Symphony RetailAI also found that customers who adopt omni-channel increase both shopping frequency and basket size, generating an incremental spend of 16%.

Inversely, online churn is just as impactful: 40% of customers abandon online channels after one purchase and even if some of them return to store, they spend almost 3% less than before, suggesting they begin shopping elsewhere.

“The rate of digital adoption was essentially accelerated by a decade during the pandemic,” said Laetitia Berthier, Head of Client Management, Europe, Symphony RetailAI. “The growth today is less hyperbolic than a year ago, but the rising share of total business in e-commerce strongly points to the need to understand the value and the changing needs of the online customer. Retailers really have to tailor the online experience to their needs that are evolving quickly and very different from in-store.”

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Technology to build an omni-channel strategy

Using technology like Symphony RetailAI Customer INsights and Decision Engine (CINDE), retailers can understand in real-time what is happening in each channel, spot opportunities and stay ahead of the competition. They gain understanding of shoppers’ needs, expectations and how best to manage investments to improve the omni-channel experience. Sharing those insights with CPGs is a must-have to continuously adjust strategy and tactics in this dynamic environment.

“The contrast between incremental spend increase in omni-channel versus churn underscores the importance of strong grocer collaboration with CPGs,” said Rachael Hadaway, SVP of Product Management, Customer-Centric Retailing, Symphony RetailAI. “Proactive data-sharing and strategic coordination allows both parties to detect ever-changing and fast-moving trends and preferences to better meet shoppers’ needs with precision.”

Symphony RetailAI will discuss these and additional findings from the analysis, along with a new framework to help grocers succeed in e-commerce, during a webinar on July 27, “Fact vs. Fiction: What’s Really Going on with Grocery E-Commerce.”

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