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I think I have already said that I grocery shop both offline and online, and that many people are shopping this way. If you insist that grocery shopping must be exclusively offline, or exclusively online, then you have no clue as to what the path to purchase looks like today for the U.S. grocery shopper. You are trying to put the U.S. consumer into a box that no longer applies.
I don't use Instacart but I do use Amazon Fresh. I don't use Postmates but I do use Walmart.com. I buy fresh food online. I buy dry goods in a physical store.
My point is that many people are grocery shopping many different ways.
I guess I missed this the first time around - did you get this reversed? I can easily see buying commodities online because they don't vary - a can of beans is a can of beans, a box of Kleenex is a box of Kleenex but fresh food is where the differences are and where one's personal decision making determines what is bought. That is precisely what is conceded when ordering online.
Some like their bananas almost green, some almost black; where is the control in online ordering? Can you rely on the online service to find the steak you would want and it being as fresh as possible? What do you see as the advantage to having someone else select the items that vary in age and quality while you select those that don't?
I guess I missed this the first time around - did you get this reversed? I can easily see buying commodities online because they don't vary - a can of beans is a can of beans, a box of Kleenex is a box of Kleenex but fresh food is where the differences are and where one's personal decision making determines what is bought. That is precisely what is conceded when ordering online.
Some like their bananas almost green, some almost black; where is the control in online ordering? Can you rely on the online service to find the steak you would want and it being as fresh as possible? What do you see as the advantage to having someone else select the items that vary in age and quality while you select those that don't?
Yeah, same with things like tomatoes (I like a certain degree of firmness) among other items... Habaneros need to be "almost" orange but not quite there, or they spoil too fast, etc.
I have used online shopping for dry groceries and things like toilet paper, tin foil, etc. But my produce I prefer to pick myself. And truth be told, to get everything I normally keep stocked, it takes trips to maybe 3 different stores (Publix being one, and then a Caribbean and an Asian specialty store) to get everything I like.
I guess I missed this the first time around - did you get this reversed? I can easily see buying commodities online because they don't vary - a can of beans is a can of beans, a box of Kleenex is a box of Kleenex but fresh food is where the differences are and where one's personal decision making determines what is bought. That is precisely what is conceded when ordering online.
Some like their bananas almost green, some almost black; where is the control in online ordering? Can you rely on the online service to find the steak you would want and it being as fresh as possible? What do you see as the advantage to having someone else select the items that vary in age and quality while you select those that don't?
No I didn't get anything reversed.
I have bought dry goods online.
I have bought dry goods at stores.
I have bought fresh food online.
I have bought fresh food at stores.
Right now I have a grocery list. It has about 30 items on it.
Buying from Costco.com:
Toilet paper
Aspirin
Baby wipes
Paper towels
Frozen shrimp
Buying from Amazon.com:
Personal care stuff (shampoo, deodorant, etc.)
Cell phone dry case
Ipad leather case
Buying from TampaBayOrganics.com:
Apples
Bananas
Grapes
Mangoes
Melons
Oranges
Buying from Target.com:
Tomatoes
Milk
Eggs
Cheeses
Misc dairy
Buying from Creekstonefarms.com:
Beef
Pork
Buying from Citarella.com:
Fish
Buying from Olivorheritagefarms.com:
Chicken
Buying from Trader Joe's:
Snacks
Cookies
Frozen meals
Buying from Walmart.com:
Paint supplies
School supplies
White Brite
Tape
Fabric softener
Buying from Publix:
Nothing
Plus a list of stuff I order direct from manufacturers, like ice cream, jams, oils, vinegars, breads, etc.
The only stuff on my list that is higher priced than local stores is the proteins.
Do I always order the same stuff from the same places? No.
It might be educational for retail neophytes such as yourself.
Retail neophyte? That's funny. Trust me, I was a pretty early adopter of online shopping. And, I've researched multitudes of services for online grocery. I'm not ignorant of their existence. I just haven't found any of them that either meet my particular needs or are worth the monetary premium that comes with their usage.
There are 3 main benefits (to me) for online shopping:
1) It is the cheapest place to find said item. In the grocery segment, this may be true for some individual items, but is not true overall. For instance, I might be able to find Senor Pedro's salsa online cheaper than at Publix or WalMart. However, I might find Publix-brand or Senor Jose's salsa to be just as good and cheaper, especially when put on sale in-store, which is far less likely to happen online. I don't think most average shoppers have the level of brand loyalty that you have. This also exempts services like Instacart and HelloFresh because there is clearly a premium to using those services.
2) It enables me to find an item I can't find in any local brick-and-mortar. This one seems to be big for you, which is fine, although its utility is virtually nonexistent for me in the grocery segment. Personally, I've just never found any item that I just had to have. I've never said, "Oh, I need to have that particular brand of ice cream." I'll just buy a decent brand at the grocery store. I have very little in the way of brand loyalty. In fact, brand loyalty seems to be dying out, and brand loyalists only make up about 37% of the population:
3) Convenience/Prevents me from having to go to a brick-and-mortar. This is the biggest for me. I don't love shopping, and I don't love driving. So, sure technically Wal-Mart offers "online" shopping, but I still have to drive to the store to pick up my order. This reduces 50% of the utility of the service for me, especially as I'm not super close to a Wal-Mart. You've also mentioned that you still go to brick-and-mortars to do grocery shopping. In that case, to me, all utility of online shopping is now gone. If I had a grocery list of 100 items but could only order 99 of them online, I still have to go to the store for that other item. So, while yes, I do obtain some convenience/time saved from buying one item instead of 100, I also pay a premium on the delivery of many of the other 99 items. If I have to actually go to the store at all, I'd rather just save the money and shop at the store for my groceries.
So, yes, while we both admit it is a growing market, you posted evidence showing that online grocery is still currently a niche market at only about 2% of the market. Price needs to go down and perceived convenience needs to go up in order for average shoppers to find more utility in it.
There are many many ways to grocery shop online. Some have markups/fees (Instacart), others (Target, Walmart, etc.) do not.
There is no "extra cost" to order groceries online from many retailers. I order groceries from Target, Amazon, Walmart, H-E-B, and the prices are equal to or lower than my area grocery stores and there is no fee and it's free shipping.
Why should I schlep to Target to buy Bounty paper towels, coffee, toilet paper, Coke, granola bars, chicken stock and canned tomatoes when I can have Target ship that stuff to me for free for the same price (or lower) (and free shipping) as going to buy it at Publix, Walmart, etc.?
It's a no brainer.
You are right about Target, Walmart, etc. when you are ordering directly. I was speaking more of services like Instacart and Shipt where I've heard many people talk about markups.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arcenal352
And this is why we need both. I don’t shop like you. My time is just as valuable, but I actually enjoy going to grocery stores. I know people who hate it. Nothing wrong with that.
This is what I've been saying all along on all of these shopping debate threads! There's room for both in the market, and I think online will remain in the minority.
----
Does Publix really need to get into the mail delivery sector, especially to ship to people living outside of its operating area? I mean, what special Publix-brand non perishables would someone want to have shipped to California? Unless there is a way to teleport subs or fried chicken, I don't see a market for it. I could be wrong, but aside from ice cream, I see Publix brand products as duplications or replacements for national brands rather than having a unique line of offerings like HEB tortilla ships and BBQ sauces or things I've heard that Wegmans offer under its store label.
Yes, there are people who come to Florida and find Publix lacking in some areas while pinning for what they had where they are from. However, if you go to Publix's Facebook page when they post pictures of grand openings, look at the comments and you will see just as many people who have moved away from Florida or the South in general asking Publix to come there. And these people now have access to HEB, Wegmans, Marianno's, Heinen's, Meijer, and smaller players who are supposedly doing things better than Publix.
The satisfaction and dissatisfaction goes both ways. :-)
Here's what grocery innovation looks like in Pennsylvania: grocery stores focused on delivery (left side of store) and pickup (drive through) on the right side of the store
My understanding from Giant executives is that the inside of this store will be mostly prepared foods (in other words, cooked food for takeout)
Of course this is how grocers have been operating in Europe for decades
They were actually one of the first stores to do it. It was called PublixDirect. While the people who used it loved it, there wasn't enough volume to justify the losses. ($50 million....) Too early to market and/or it wasn't ready for primetime outside of NYC, CHI, LA, SF type cities.
I have bought dry goods online.
I have bought dry goods at stores.
I have bought fresh food online.
I have bought fresh food at stores.
Right now I have a grocery list. It has about 30 items on it.
Buying from Costco.com:
Toilet paper
Aspirin
Baby wipes
Paper towels
Frozen shrimp
Buying from Amazon.com:
Personal care stuff (shampoo, deodorant, etc.)
Cell phone dry case
Ipad leather case
Buying from TampaBayOrganics.com:
Apples
Bananas
Grapes
Mangoes
Melons
Oranges
Buying from Target.com:
Tomatoes
Milk
Eggs
Cheeses
Misc dairy
Buying from Creekstonefarms.com:
Beef
Pork
Buying from Citarella.com:
Fish
Buying from Olivorheritagefarms.com:
Chicken
Buying from Trader Joe's:
Snacks
Cookies
Frozen meals
Buying from Walmart.com:
Paint supplies
School supplies
White Brite
Tape
Fabric softener
Buying from Publix:
Nothing
Plus a list of stuff I order direct from manufacturers, like ice cream, jams, oils, vinegars, breads, etc.
The only stuff on my list that is higher priced than local stores is the proteins.
Do I always order the same stuff from the same places? No.
I like to keep my time flexible so scheduling and waiting for nine deliveries in a week would not work for me; I'm sure it could be very helpful for someone housebound. I also wouldn't want to spend the time comparison shopping for day to day items at a half dozen sites. And then we're back to personal preference and maximum freshness for produce, meat and fish. If it's "good enough" to sell, it's being shipped to customers even if they might not select that piece themselves.
i like to keep my time flexible so scheduling and waiting for nine deliveries in a week would not work for me; i'm sure it could be very helpful for someone housebound. I also wouldn't want to spend the time comparison shopping for day to day items at a half dozen sites. And then we're back to personal preference and maximum freshness for produce, meat and fish. If it's "good enough" to sell, it's being shipped to customers even if they might not select that piece themselves.
They were actually one of the first stores to do it. It was called PublixDirect. While the people who used it loved it, there wasn't enough volume to justify the losses. ($50 million....) Too early to market and/or it wasn't ready for primetime outside of NYC, CHI, LA, SF type cities.
Publix's timing is way off. They should have stuck with it. When they abandoned innovation, other grocers started it up across America and have been riding the omnichannel wave for years
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