Rebound in grocery shopping satisfaction, both in-store and online

Compared to earlier this year, US supermarkets rebounded from lower scores on core experience factors and overall satisfaction, both in the store and online. Half of supermarket shoppers continue to shop both online and in the store, with higher numbers of younger shoppers engaging in this dual channel shopping behavior.

The Retail Feedback Group (RFG) released the ‘Fall 2020 U.S. Online & In-Store Grocery Shopping Study’. This report provides insights from both online and in-store supermarket shoppers in the US, collected during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Compared to April, nearly all the core experience factors for supermarkets improved, with the sharpest increases seen on a five-point scale, where five is highest, in variety/selection (4.25, up from 4.00) and value for money (4.10, up from 3.93). Overall satisfaction improved to 4.23 from 4.08.

Shoppers weighed in on several factors that help supermarkets differentiate from competitors, rating how their primary store fared. The two highest scoring areas were ‘providing good value for money spent’ and ‘friendliness of employees’, but the scores themselves were low (3.63 and 3.62, respectively, on a five-point scale).

“While we saw a rebound for overall satisfaction, and across nearly all core experience factors, supermarkets need to weigh differentiators and how to leverage them in the current environment. In particular, a focus on ‘providing good value for money spent’ remains a must based on economic conditions. Further, although a challenging time, employee friendliness could never be more important given the high impact it has on the likelihood of shoppers to recommend the store to others,” commented Doug Madenberg, RFG Principal.

While a larger percentage of shoppers (39%) indicate they are shopping for food and groceries at about the same frequency as pre-pandemic, compared to 20% earlier this year, 34% shop less often (a substantial change from 55% in April) while 27% shop more often (similar to 25% earlier this year).

Similar to earlier this year, shoppers continue to keep a supply of products on hand for longer periods of time, from categories throughout the store, including fresh and shelf-stable items. The percentage of shoppers reporting the supermarket had everything in stock they wanted to purchase, jumped to 76%, up from 49% in earlier in the year. Online, this improved to 68%, up from 51%.

Earlier this year, 50% of in-store supermarket shoppers in the last 30 days also ordered groceries online. Current findings reinforce these earlier findings, as shoppers continue to use both in-store and online channels to fulfill their needs in similar proportions, strongest among the younger and growing generations.

Source: Retail Feedback Group