The Online Grocery Shopper Journey: Focus on Favourites

We often refer to the shopper journey through the store as a key behavioural characteristic when considering where best to place shopper marketing initiatives.

Well, it is perhaps of no surprise that the same principle applies to online grocery shopping. Shoppers interact with different ‘touch points’ of the grocery website as they move along their ‘journey’ from initial login to checkout, just as they would in the supermarket.

This behaviour along their journey - and indeed the touch points they interact with - is a complex function of a number of different factors. These range from their mission, the retailer they use, and their degree of experience (and therefore familiarity) with online grocery, to their ‘modality’ (their typical mind-set and approach), experiences they bring with them from in-store, the categories they are shopping, and - of course – shopper marketing initiatives they see along the way.

 It is no surprise therefore that brand manufacturers are busy scratching their heads trying to work out the best place to invest their marketing budget with the online channel. Calling upon the findings of thirteen detailed accompanied shops, in depth interviews and a survey of 1,002 online grocery shoppers, our study offers detailed insight into online grocery shopper behaviour, journey and interaction with touch points. As a taster in this article we present a specific focus on a particular touch point – the favourites pages.

Favourites: The Favourite Touch Point

Nearly half (44%) of all online grocery shoppers begin their journey with the favourites page, making this touch-point the most common place to start, after logging in and booking a delivery slot. Many online grocery retailers consider it the section used by most shoppers to purchase regular items. It is often pitched as a good place to position initiatives such as offers and suggested alternatives that are designed to influence decision making.

While 44% begin their journey with favourites, 56% say they use the favourites pages at some point during their journey. This is a marginal increase, highlighting the fact that nearly 4 in 5 who use the favourites do so at the beginning of their shop. This is not an obvious point. Consider the special offers pages for example, where the proportion that start is relatively low (19%) but overall penetration during the shop is high (53%).

We know from our accompanied shops that shoppers who do not use favourites instead typically begin their journey with either keyword search and/or department navigation based upon a written list. Indeed, 1 in 4 begins their shop in this way. What shoppers don’t do is start by browsing categories for inspiration. In fact just 4% of all online grocery shoppers selected this option in our survey – a strong and broader reflection of the focused mind-set of the average online grocery shopper.

It’s All About The Shopper Mission

Now first and foremost, the use of favourites varies by mission. The shopper mission is by definition the purpose of the shop. And online grocery is not just about replacing the weekly grocery shop. In fact, only a third (35%) say their most regular mission is the weekly shop. Over half (53%) of shoppers typically use online for less frequent, larger stock-up shops.

Yet it is the weekly grocery shoppers who are the most likely (68%) to use the favourites pages due to the frequency and recurring nature of their shop. A regular weekly grocery shopper who uses online to achieve the same result each week is more often than not driven by convenience and routine. Use of favourites is particularly common among shoppers with families who use online to do their regular grocery shop each week.

 Of course many ‘stock-up’’ shoppers also use favourites. But these occasional online grocery shoppers may also seek to achieve a more specific objective relating to bulk purchasing of larger non-perishable items, or even specific items for a particular occasion. Our accompanied shops and interviews reinforce this finding – ‘occasional’ shoppers often cited variation as the primary reason for not using the favourites pages.

Variation Across The Different Retailers

Favourites are implemented in a number of different ways by the different online grocery retailers. They can range from ‘previously bought items’ and user created lists to previous and last orders. And while retailers such as Tesco utilise existing Clubcard data to populate favourites for first time users, others such as Asda rely upon building up a history of online shopping, or populating using the barcode of a previous supermarket receipt.

Our survey highlights a relatively small - but important nonetheless - variation in terms of interaction with favourites across the major online grocery retailers. Tesco.com has the highest engagement of shoppers - 58% visit these pages at some stage during their journey. Sainsbury’s in contrast sees a marginally lower engagement in favourites at 55%. Asda also lags Tesco slightly. Our accompanied shops provide further evidence that Sainsbury’s and Asda shoppers are more likely than Tesco’s to use department navigation and keyword search as the main touch points during their journey.

We know that Tesco shoppers benefit from integration with their existing Clubcard data. Yet arguably Tesco also does more than most to build awareness and educate shoppers about the benefits of using this feature too. For example Tesco shoppers are also encouraged to engage with favourites with large bold graphics on the front page, while Sainsbury’s shoppers are less likely to spot ‘My Usuals’.

We suggest that Tesco’s ability to present first time shoppers with their favourites immediately is a strong differentiator. Online shoppers rapidly establish habit and routine after just a few online shops. Opportunities to engage shoppers early with personalised favourites can dramatically alter their journey in the future.

What Are Shoppers Using The Favourites For?

A misleading assumption regarding the favourites pages is that they are used by shoppers to re-order all the same items every week. While two thirds of online shoppers say the favourites list is appealing, we find that few use it to actually order all the same items each week.

Instead, our evidence suggests that shoppers frequently use the favourites as a prompt and a shortcut for buying the ‘regular staples’ – primarily fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy and bakery – but then often use other touch points to conduct the later part of their shop.

Indeed, our accompanied shops highlight that many shoppers approach the order of their shop in much the same way as the supermarket. Those who use a written list often use the favourites list for their staples, much in the same way that they might rely on routine and visual cues at the beginning of a supermarket shop before moving to their written list later in the journey. Written lists and online favourites can and do co-exist for many online shoppers.

For some shoppers, the shift from the favourites list to either a written or mental list; and department navigation - highlights an important shift in mind-set. Some describe ‘getting bored’ of the favourites, while others say they prefer to consider items and offers in greater detail later in their journey much as they might in the supermarket. Others relate a desire to ensure they ‘don’t buy things they shouldn’t’. One even mentioned they would be concerned they might miss offers if they shopped exclusively within the favourites list.

With this in mind, it is interesting to consider how online grocery retailers typically order the favourites page, and the likelihood of a return across different types of categories. Yes, in some cases shoppers can choose to filter favourites by department. But we find most shoppers don’t do this. They are focused on using the favourites as a shortcut and a prompt for the staples, and they expect these to be at the top of the list - much in the same way as they expect them at the front of the supermarket. And this is how the retailers present them. Ultimately, our research suggests that non-perishables and non-food groceries are therefore less likely to be purchased from the favourites list than fresh groceries.

“Why Is The Favourites List Not A List Of My Favourites?”

There is no doubt that where online grocery falls short at present is the lack of personalisation. Online grocery - combined with loyalty scheme integration - offers huge potential for more effective targeting and improved relevance for shoppers. Yet a common complaint among shoppers we spoke to was the length of the favourites list and lack of personalisation.

 

In fact, if one considers the typical use of the favourites pages, combined with the primarily focused mind-set of the online grocery shopper - and their cut throat/mathematical approach to rapid range editing and filtering – one could be forgiven for concluding that favourites are in fact are a poor place to position suggested alternatives designed to influence decision making!

In Summary

We believe there is actually great potential for shopper marketing using the favourites list. The key to success here is actually the need to improve the degree of personalisation and recognise what shoppers actually want the favourites list for. For example, while very few shoppers we spoke to interacted with interrupts, suggestions and offers on the favourites list, most said they were aware of these initiatives – and many commented favourably about the concept.

So, we conclude that it is greater care to improve personalisation, combined with efforts to understand what shoppers really want the favourites for, that will ultimately lead to a rise in interaction with shopper marketing initiatives. Given the right targeting and the right category, opportunities for product suggestions, alternatives and NPD are ample.

Our Research

Calling upon the findings of thirteen detailed accompanied shops, in depth interviews and a survey of 1,002 online grocery shoppers, our study offers the most authoritative study to date regarding online grocery shopper behaviour, journey and interaction with touch points.

The report offers detailed insight into shoppers’ attitudes, behaviours and purchasing habits online, retailers’ propositions and shopper marketing effectiveness, helping FMCGs, retailers and agencies understand and influence the shoppers’ decision making process across the online path to purchase.

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