Online Grocery Convenience; Amazon Apparel; Retail Memberships
By Cleveland AdminBased on our recent survey, convenience and saving time were the top two reasons cited by consumers for why they buy groceries online, which aligns with the results of our 2020 survey as well. These are characteristics that should be durable post-pandemic and largely follow why consumers like buying general merchandise categories online. While the early days of online shopping was all about the lowest prices or even an infinite shelf, it is typically the convenience of the shopping model that keeps bringing consumers back today. This should bolster manufacturers’ forecasts for strong demand post-pandemic, enabling a high degree of investment relative to pre-pandemic planning.
Amazon Champions the Apparel Category:
The pandemic appears to have pushed many consumers over the pain points of buying apparel online, such as with concerns over fit and returns. Amazon has reportedly surpassed Walmart to become the top clothing retailer in the U.S. for 2020 with $41B in sales. The company was well positioned ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic to seize the opportunity in this space as many physical retail locations faced closures throughout the year. The retailer is forecasted to reach $45 billion in clothing and shoes sales in 2021.
Retailer Memberships:
When surveying consumers in the US that have used an online grocery platform in the last 30 days to order groceries, we found that 89% of Walmart+ members were also Amazon Prime members, and 50% of Amazon Prime members are also Walmart+ members. It’s interesting to note that only 55% of Amazon Prime members used Amazon Fresh to purchase groceries in the last 30 days while 67% of Amazon Prime members used Walmart Grocery Pickup & Delivery, suggesting that consumers have both memberships for separate purposes and also for online grocery convenience.
Source: CRC Online Grocery Consumer Study, March 3, 2021, n = 489