WILTON, Conn. -- Center Store items, including paper and plastic products, beverages, pasta, soup, rice and cleaning supplies, are the biggest draw for on-line shoppers, according to a new study.
Conducted by Greenfield Online, a marketing research provider here, the study found found that nearly 40% of 3,000 surfers had visited an on-line grocery Web site within a 30 day period.
The number of actual shoppers is still relatively small in comparison with traditional grocery shoppers. However, the percentage of respondents purchasing groceries on-line has more than doubled since a similar study conducted in December of 1999, jumping from 3% to 7%.
Also, the likelihood of visiting an on-line grocery store is directly linked to household income, according to the study, with 45% of on-line shoppers having annual incomes of $75,000 or more.
Fifty-six percent of respondents said they have visited on-line grocers to compare prices. Other common activities include clipping coupons, 36%, and researching store locations, 31%.
Priceline.com was the most popular choice of on-line venues among survey respondents, with 33% visiting the site. Netgrocer.com ran a close second, with 31%. Peapod.com, homegrocer.com and egrocer.com made modest appearances at 17%, 13% and 12% respectively.