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Kroger’s 84.51° tells a tale of two shoppers

Barbara Connors, vice president, Commercial Insights, at 84.51°, shares how retailers can engage with both digital champs and digital dabblers

Michael Browne, Executive Editor

February 9, 2022

 

In the wake of the pandemic’s unprecedented disruption to the grocery business, a new consumer has emerged — hybrid shoppers who are using both in-store and e-commerce to fulfill different purchases. But not all hybrid shopping behaviors are the same, points out Barbara Connors, vice president, Commercial Insights at The Kroger Co.’s 84.51°, the grocery giant’s retail data science, insights and media company. She joined us for our latest SN Off the Shelf podcast to share insights about these shoppers and how retailers can best engage with them.

“E-commerce engagement has doubled since pre-pandemic times and hybrid shoppers have also doubled,” she said. “This trend will continue to grow as adoption and trial continues to expand across different customer groups. And really what this means for the industry is that, we've come to a point where e-commerce is now mainstream and it will only continue to become a more important part of brand strategies.”

Delving into the profile of digital shoppers, 84.51° identified several commonalities: They trend Gen X and younger, have higher incomes and have children. They are high-convenience shoppers and medium to high natural and organic shoppers. Beyond these common traits, however, two distinct household types emerge: what 84.51° calls the “digital champ” and the “digital dabbler.”

“The digital champs are really those customers that have sort of moved all in and the dabblers are those that are still sort of trying it out and figuring out what they like and how it's going to fit in,” said Connors. “Overall, we do see that e-commerce shoppers tend to be younger, tend to have children and tend to value convenience. But within that when you dig in, we say these digital champs, those that are at the high end of the spectrum, they're a quarter of the households but they represent 61% of sales. And so it's really important that strategy meets the needs of them because winning with them is what's going to drive your overall growth today. They also tend to place a higher priority on health”

“On the flip side,” she added, “the dabblers are 14% of households but they're only 10% of the spend. They tend to be larger households and they also tend to have higher price sensitivity. So if you think about what we could do to engage them differently, instead of focusing as much on health benefits, it can be really prioritizing how you're showing value and how you are helping them to make fiscally responsible choices for their family or their budget.”

Connors shared deeper insights into both these groups, including generational and lifestyle trends, as well as the importance of omnichannel strategies for retailers and manufacturers. Tune into the podcast to learn more from 84.51°.

About the Author

Michael Browne

Executive Editor, Supermarket News

Michael Browne joined Supermarket News in 2018 after serving in managing and executive editor capacities at leading B2B media brands including Convenience Store NewsLicense Global and Travel Agent. He also previously served as content production manager for print and digital in the Business Intelligence division of Informa, parent company of Supermarket News and Nation’s Restaurant News.

As executive editor, Mike oversees the editorial content of supermarketnews.com as well as the monthly print publication. He also directs all content-based brand-related projects including the annual Top 75 Retailers report, Category Guide, Retailer of the Year, research surveys and special reports, as well as podcast and webinar content. Mike has also presented and moderated at industry events.

In addition to the positions mentioned above, Mike has also worked as a writer and/or editor for special projects at American Legal Media (ALM), managing editor for Tobacco International, special projects editor at American Banker • Bond Buyer, and as production editor for Bank Technology News and other related financial magazines and journals published by Faulkner & Gray.

A graduate of Fordham University, Mike is based in New York City, where he was born and raised.

Contact Mike at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

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