Dive Brief:

• About 90% of online food orders placed during the Super Bowl this year are expected to be first-time users of online food delivery services, according to findings from Polly, a tool from artificial intelligence-driven market research company Advanced Symbolics.
• Among Super Bowl fans, Polly found 52% of people are aware of Instacart, while 12% of fans show interest in Shipt and 6% for Walmart Grocery and Amazon Fresh.
• In terms of what people are planning to eat this Super Bowl, Polly found healthy choices like nuts, pretzels and vegetables will be served up alongside or instead of the usual chips, dip and wings. Nielsen also reported a shift toward multicultural menus.

Dive Insight:

The opportunity to attract new online customers over Super Bowl Sunday is a big one for grocers — but one that will only be successful if retailers can meet the time-sensitive demands of delivery during game day, Advanced Symbolics noted.

Instacart has a major advantage of higher awareness than the other players. Though a spokesperson told Grocery Dive it isn’t running any special promos, its wide availability and quick delivery will be a draw to first-time shoppers.

A spokesperson for Shipt, meanwhile, said the service is offering several Superbowl season promotions that will vary by retailer. This includes a "Big Game" promotion where shoppers get $6 credit after spending $18 and a deal at Target stores that gives a $10 gift card to shoppers who order $50 or more on food with the retailer.

Kroger is touting promotions for the big game, offering sales like five for $5 on chips, cheese and snack items and 20% off party snacks and disposable bowls. The promotional pricing is available for online ordering and delivery through Kroger’s Ship service. Albertsons is offering a discount on game day favorites and is also appealing to first-time online shoppers with $20 off plus free delivery on a first time order.

Popular foods for Super Bowl Sunday are shifting away from traditional favorites like hot dogs and domestic beer toward other flavors. According to Nielsen, sales of domestic beer were down 5% in the weeks leading up to last year’s Super Bowl, while import sales were up 4%. Nielsen noted the Latinx population in Florida, where the game will be played in Miami, represents $165 billion in spending power.

To tap into customer demand for more multicultural food options, grocers will need to properly stock and promote items like tortilla chips, avocados, jalapenos and queso.