According to the report, grocers are increasingly concerned about the ease with which customers can switch to competitors in the digital age, and improving loyalty is a C-level issue for 71% of grocers.
GLOA report recently published by Incisiv, The Food Industry Association (FMI) and Loyal Guru , discusses the impact of the digital age on customer loyalty in the grocery industry. According to the report, grocers are increasingly concerned about the ease with which customers can switch to competitors in the digital age, and improving loyalty is a C-level issue for 71% of grocers.
The report highlights that e-grocery has made shoppers less loyal, according to 74% of grocers surveyed. Furthermore, 88% of grocers believe that a poor third-party experience negatively impacts shopper loyalty, and 76% believe that a negative web and mobile experience has the same effect. The report also projects that the percentage of revenue from grocers’ loyalty programs will increase from 56% in 2022 to 63% in 2025.
While e-grocery sales saw substantial growth during the pandemic, the stickiness of the trend has been coming somewhat unglued this year. Sales in the category dropped 1.2% in February and 7.6% in March, driven by cost pressures on delivery and pickup services.
The report also highlights that while grocers and consumers expressed satisfaction with loyalty programs (69% and 63% respectively), those figures dropped substantially when asked about digital aspects of those programs (27% and 17%). The report suggests that this could be due to the lack of seamless integration with the overall shopping experience, making it difficult for shoppers to track and redeem their rewards online or through a mobile app.
The report suggests that the number-one goal of loyalty programs in 2023 will be reducing the impact of inflation on shoppers, expressed by 93% of grocers who responded to the survey. This will be followed by customer acquisition (85%) and retention (77%). In order to improve loyalty, grocers need to focus on improving personalization, offering high-quality product assortments, and providing a seamless shopping experience to build strong relationships with their shoppers, according to the report.
