Beyond Convenience

Online grocery has been a juggernaut. In the three years since the start of the pandemic, the modern grocery run has changed shape significantly. Today’s shopper splits their grocery trip between in-store and online in a fluid fashion, while marketers scramble to adjust in real-time. They’re asking questions like: “When will online grocery’s growth level out? What will be the ultimate balance between in-store and online? How should we tailor our marketing for the online space?”

Instacart, WPP and VMLY&R Commerce teamed up to explore these questions and conducted two phases of research. We surveyed 4,200 online grocery consumers, kicking off in January 2022 and then following up 12 months later, to identify similarities and differences in how people shop online versus in-store.

While the acceleration in e-commerce numbers is leveling off across many categories, evidence shows that consumers are still prepared to shift more of their hard-earned dollars to the online grocery channel with two out of three shoppers stating they will be doing more than half of their grocery shopping online by 2033.

The “Modern Grocery Run” Report explores the ways marketers can tap into the full-funnel marketing capabilities that online grocery offers to empower, inspire and engage consumers throughout the shopping journey. Learn how to optimise the path to discovery with new shoppable ad and video formats and tailor messaging to create meaningful experiences powered by data.

In the modern era of commerce, marketers need to frame online shopping as more than just a convenience to effectively convert and, grow business share.