We know the holiday season is a critical time of year for grocers, with holidays like Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas driving high demand and increasing store traffic. But as consumers consider safer ways to prepare their holiday meals in 2020, this year's holiday season will feel much different. As of October 2020, online grocery users exceeded levels from all other quarters this year, and industry-wide sales rose 18.43% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
At Shipt, we've experienced this increase first-hand. We spent the first few months of the pandemic rapidly scaling our business to meet the immediate need and increased demand for our service. While difficult, we learned a lot and know what we need to do to continue to support grocers and retailers ahead of a holiday season like no other.
With that, we know the coming months will be a critical time for grocers to implement new procedures, redefine the customer experience and reach new customers in order to survive (and thrive!) during the holidays and beyond.
Preparing for COVID-friendly holiday shopping
To better understand how COVID-19 will impact shopping habits and celebrations, we recently surveyed more than 17,000 Shipt customers. The results revealed that the vast majority of customers are looking to use Shipt for holiday-specific needs, including holiday cooking, entertaining, and gifting. Over 80% of those polled plan to use Shipt for a multitude of holiday cooking and entertaining needs, and 40% even see delivery services as gifting enablers, with plans to deliver cooking and baking items as holiday gifts to family and friends.
So, what do these 2020 trends and data points mean for grocers? Between the holidays, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and flu season, grocers must be prepared to adopt new tactics this year so that they are well-equipped to meet demand. Given our recent experiences at Shipt (and based on previous holiday seasons I've supported over the past 25 years in retail!), here are a few tactics I recommend implementing to help prepare:
- Publish holiday deals well in advance so customers can plan shops ahead of time. Several retailers have already published their Black Friday deals - which typically doesn't happen until Thanksgiving Day.
- As seen earlier this spring, out-of-stocks became a major challenge for retailers. Closely monitor real-time data to ensure inventory listed online remains up-to-date to help customers plan ahead for holiday meals and gifting needs. This is essential as many are already predicting and preparing for a second round of panic grocery shopping this winter.
- Offer multiple fulfillment options, such as in-store, curbside pickup, and same-day delivery, to meet customer needs. And make sure your team is equipped to support these offerings! For example, at Shipt, we're working to proactively add 100,000 new shoppers to our platform to support the anticipated uptick in demand.
Redefining the customer experience and reaching new customers
While the holiday season is short-term, this advice can and should be leveraged for longer-term strategies given today's climate. This was a key theme discussed at the Smart Kitchen Summit, which I had the pleasure of attending and participating in this October.
At the virtual conference, one trend that particularly stood out to me was how the grocery and food industry is becoming more and more personal and targeted - something we know consumers crave from the retail experience. Based on what I saw and heard at the event, several food and retail companies are investing heavily in the customer experience, such as adding customization to make their apps more intuitive. In the grocery space specifically, we know that customization would benefit consumers in many ways, including to meet allergy and dietary preferences. Customization can also be applied to the way grocers tailor specials and offerings for customers, as adding a touch of personalization to the shopping experience can go a long way.
In addition, one topic discussed during my session on the role delivery plays in today's modern kitchen that's worth noting is the demographic shifts for grocery delivery services. While primarily used by families, we're starting to see more and more older Americans switch to grocery delivery to avoid in-person shopping. At Shipt, we recently partnered with Macomb County in Michigan to offer free grocery delivery to seniors. Knowing most grocers today do offer additional support for senior customers, such as dedicated morning shopping windows, it's clear that longer-term solutions will need to be put in place to further support a demographic that previously didn't seek out the app or tech aid for general everyday tasks.
Looking ahead
We know the months ahead will be challenging - but we also have the data, knowledge, and capabilities available to ensure grocers can seamlessly navigate this unique holiday season.
Based on Shipt's proprietary survey findings and other industry themes and lessons learned from our fellow retail leaders, we're confident that the industry as a whole will emerge stronger than ever. And we here at Shipt are here to support every step of the way.
