We are at a time when the internet is changing consumer habits again, where the consumer is spending less time in supermarkets and is instead preferring to shop online, using same day delivery services, buying only what they know and trust.
Companies like Walmart, Amazon and Instacart are taking advantage of this new change, showing consumers the comfort of buying from home and making it easier for families who have little time to shop at the store, to have fresh products hand-picked for them by store employees.
It is very common to see these “buyers” walking through the store with supermarket carts, with brown paper bags and glued to their tablets, selecting the groceries for their customers, who previously chose the products they needed, and then receive them at home, thanks to the same day delivery service.
This new way of working is leading us to have new marketing objectives and strategies where a digital platform will have the power to influence a client on which product to choose, buy a product in real time in front of the competition and receive suggestions where, according to sales history, the customer can buy the same products that had previously chosen.
Millennials quickly adapt to online platforms
Big cities have been the starting example of this model of same day delivery, where families benefit from receiving products in bad weather conditions, whereas before they would not have gone out to do their shopping.
They are increasing the volumes of consumption by letting customers easily receive products directly at the door of their house. Previously, the limit was what a customer could carry in a cart inside the subway, like in New York.
This convenience of same day delivery has also led supermarkets to adapt and invest in new infrastructure, like refrigerators and lockers at the entrance of stores, have a different flow of personnel walking the aisles, have software that allows to show the inventory in real time and especially in changing the mentality of employees about the type of client they are now receiving, which is virtual.
Millennials quickly adopted these platforms, but the Generation X has also mastered use of these platforms because of savings and comfort at easily having products in less time with same day delivery services, giving them more time to do other activities.
Lastly, we might assume that this type of consumer would turn supermarkets into a cold atmosphere with no contact, but surprisingly it is more personalized than expected, where the “shopper” is in contact with the client, letting them have the option of a variety of products that they are finding or if it seems convenient to add something additional.