Loyalty Higher with Omnichannel Shoppers than In-Store

Households that shop both in-store and online are growing at a rate of 10% year-over-year. And those omnichannel shoppers are more loyal than their in-store-only counterparts, according to Dallas-based enterprise artificial intelligence provider Symphony RetailAI, which serves global retail and CPG companies. 

Online household penetration now reaches 6.4%, up 60% from pre-pandemic levels, Symphony RetailAI said. Aside from loyalty, researchers said that those who adopt omni-channel shopping habits generate incremental spend, but their level of churn can be huge if retailers don’t provide an excellent customer experience from the first visit.

In times of declining shopper loyalty and increased competition, clicks are more powerful in retaining and augmenting customer loyalty better than bricks alone. Online grocery shoppers can add nearly 2% in additional total revenue for retailers, the Symphony RetailAI research shows.

“The rate of digital adoption was essentially accelerated by a decade during the pandemic,” said Laetitia Berthier, head of client management, Europe, Symphony RetailAI. “The growth today is less hyperbolic than a year ago, but the rising share of total business in e-commerce strongly points to the need to understand the value and the changing needs of the online customer. Retailers really have to tailor the online experience to their needs that are evolving quickly and very different from in-store.”

Online churn is just as impactful as 40% of customers abandon online channels after one purchase. Even if some of them return to store, they spend almost 3% less than before, suggesting they begin shopping elsewhere, said Symphony RetailAI.

“The contrast between incremental spend increase in omni-channel versus churn underscores the importance of strong grocer collaboration with CPGs,” said Rachael Hadaway, SVP of product management, customer-centric retailing, Symphony RetailAI.