The online grocery market might already be worth upwards of £5bn a year – accounting for 3% of the overall grocery market – but there is still work to be done to convince the public at large, as only 14% of consumers like buying food on the Web, according to a new study.
The Retail Marketing Report, carried out by the REaD Group, suggests supermarkets need to improve and personalise the online food-buying process in order to compete with the prevailing “market stall” mentality that makes the public want to see the food they buy.
The report should certainly make Morrisons’ bosses sit up and take note; the supermarket chain will become the last of the major grocery retailers to sell online when it launches Morrisons.com next year.
The study also claims multichannel retailing must be underpinned with a strong multichannel communication strategy. Retailers have a way to go when it comes to sending relevant communications to consumers, with only 6% of consumers feeling the marketing communications they receive are targeted and appropriate.
When it came to the all-important question of trust, high street stores came out on top with 39% of consumers trusting them most with their customer data, this was closely followed by superstores with 37%.
In contrast, voucher sites, mail order companies and online retailers were least trusted. However, with relatively low scores across the board, the results indicate that consumers are increasingly aware of data security but lack overall confidence in the way their data is managed by retailers.
REaD Group chief executive Mark Roy, who is also chair of the DMA Data Council, said: “British retailers are facing an unprecedented onslaught, yet in the minds of consumers the channel remains desirable and important. An inexorable desire for consumers to interact with a product means that increasing and driving store traffic across multiple retail channels has never been more important.
“Success in the sector will depend on how retailers exploit new data intelligence techniques, how they communicate across marketing channels and by the standard of the services that they deliver. While conditions are tough, many retailers are thriving to the detriment of those that are sitting on their hands.”
To download the report please visit http://www.readgroupplc.com/retail
