Will Autonomous Delivery Make You More Likely To Shop For Groceries Online?

Buying groceries online has become increasingly popular in recent years, but there are still many people out there who are wary of purchasing their food this way.

Some of the factors that have influenced people's decision to go online rather than into the store for their next grocery trip, are things like convenience, price, access to unique products, and more. Many companies have already invested heavily into promoting this new method of shopping, places like Amazon, Walmart, Target, and others, but it still hasn't caught-on with millions of Americans who prefer to shop in-store.

The online grocery sales market is estimated to be worth more than $14 billion and expected to grow to more than $30 billion by 2021.

Though, despite the many opportunities that are available today for buying groceries online, the majority of grocery shopping is still taking place at traditional grocery markets.

Why don't people like buying their food online?

Some of the concerns that have been cited as reason for staying away from the online grocery option, include things like:

• worries over freshness and quality of the product
• enjoyment in the grocery shopping activity itself at the brick-and-mortar venue
• ability to make price comparisons in store
• ability to sample food in store

According to a poll that was conducted last year by Reuters, which included over 8,000 participants, it was found that roughly 75 percent of online shoppers said that they hardly ever make the decision to buy their food online.

About 60 percent said that they found price won at their local food markets, along with quality, selection, and convenience.

Some supermarkets are looking to try and make online shopping more convenient in an effort to persuade more to adopt that shopping method. One of the the largest chains in the U.S., Kroger, recently announced their plans to partner with an autonomous cars startup, Nuro, to try and get the food to your home in a more convenient manner.

They will start testing this fall...

The autonomous vehicles will reportedly have human drivers in the front seat but they won't be the ones doing the work with unloading the groceries. Will this be the solution that finally persuades more Americans to make the decision to buy their food online? If more start to experiment with that option and they find that quality, convenience, price, and selection, are not sacrificed, then more are likely going to be willing to embrace going online first to reorder when they need food. But it's clear that many people today are still reluctant to try changing their shopping habits. Or, perhaps a great deal have tried and then decided not to go back because they didn't find the experience to be convenient or enjoyable.

Will Most Of Our Grocery Shopping In The Future Be Done Online?

Or will it be more of the same mixture that we see today with many still going to traditional brick-and-mortar locations, with a decent amount of individuals alternatively enjoying the convenience and opportunity to have their groceries purchased online and delivered. There is also growing interest for curbside pickup options and picking-up in store; simply ordering the groceries online doesn't always include that they ultimately will end up being delivered to their door step.

By 2025, it's expected that the online grocery market in the U.S. will grow to more than $100 billion.

One of the reasons that many people have said they prefer to walk down the aisle and pick out their food themselves, is that they want to see the item firsthand to inspect the quality etc. Those folks who want to see, smell, and touch their groceries before selecting them aren't likely going to embrace alternative shopping methods just because they are delivered via autonomous vehicle, will they?

At the moment, some of the most popular foods that get ordered online are things like coffee, beverages, snack foods, and breakfast foods. And it's suggest that experiences with purchasing these non-perishables is helping to ease consumers into experimenting with ordering other items online for delivery, such as fruits, frozen food, meat, and dairy. However, the most frequently cited reason for neglecting to embrace shopping online for groceries still remains the concern that many have to see what they are buying firsthand before they make their decision.

Pics:
Pixabay
Pixabay
Kroger via CNBC

Sources:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/281430/us-consumers-factors-that-would-make-them-buy-groceries-online-by-generation/
https://www.statista.com/topics/1915/us-consumers-online-grocery-shopping/
https://food52.com/blog/20487-how-many-americans-actually-get-groceries-online
https://www.aol.com/article/finance/2017/10/18/online-groceries-are-a-hard-sell-even-to-avid-internet-shoppers-poll/23247553/
https://www.technologyreview.com/the-download/611567/kroger-is-turning-to-autonomous-cars-to-solve-the-last-mile-problem-for/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2018/01/18/online-grocery-sales-to-reach-100-billion-in-2025-amazon-set-to-be-market-share-leader/#75a46b5462f3
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/27/kroger-to-soon-begin-driverless-grocery-delivery.html
https://qz.com/1077743/people-dont-buy-groceries-online-because-they-prefer-to-pick-things-out-in-stores/

Related Posts:

Will The Whole Foods Deal Help Amazon To Gain More Traction In The Grocery Market?

https://steemit.com/market/@doitvoluntarily/will-whole-foods-deal-help-amazon-to-gain-more-traction-in-the-grocery-market

Why Aren't More People Shopping For Their Food Online?

https://steemit.com/food/@doitvoluntarily/why-aren-t-more-people-shopping-for-their-food-online