US, European Grocery Retailers Ranked in Digital Maturity Benchmark Study December 9, 2019

US, European Grocery Retailers Ranked in Digital Maturity Benchmark Study

Digital is sparking change in every market segment and grocery is no exception. Evolving customer demand—coupled with continued increases in competition—is driving the business forward, forcing grocers to upgrade their digital capabilities if they are to thrive in a highly challenging business environment.

That’s the overarching takeaway from the inaugural Grocery Digital Maturity Benchmark study, which was conducted by Incisiv and Winsight Grocery Business. The report provides the industry’s first global assessment of grocery retailers’ digital performance and identifies areas of improvement and investment for the 80 largest retailers in the US and Europe.

The Grocery Digital Benchmark Maturity study takes a sweeping view of digital grocery sales platforms in conventional grocery stores, hypermarkets, discount/cash-and-carry stores and warehouse clubs. Roughly 120 attributes and 10,000 data points were captured across the four make-it-or-break-it stages of the customer journey, including research and discovery, ease of ordering, order fulfillment, and customer engagement and service.

American retailers BJ’s, Costco, Kroger, Target and Walmart rank in the top 10.

While online grocery sales remain relatively in infancy, the Grocery Digital Maturity Benchmark study forecasts annual digital grocery sales to surpass $150 billion by 2025, growing 26 percent on a year-over-year basis. Digital grocery sales, meanwhile, are pegged to reach 13.5 percent of total US grocery sales in 2024.

“Grocers need only look at the growth of Amazon in the grocery segment to see the importance of attaining increased digital maturity,” said Gaurav Pant, Incisiv’s chief insights officer.

“It’s no surprise that US grocers who implement digital capabilities see increased sales and improved competitive positioning,” said Sylvain Perrier, president and CEO of Toronto-based Mercatus. “Yet, it’s interesting to see the relative immaturity of the European market, demonstrating that the early adoption of grocery e-commerce in Europe has plateaued and the market is due for reinvention. Whether in the US or Europe, grocers who have yet to enter the digital space or need to regain control of their e-commerce experience should look to Target, Kroger, BJ’s and LeShop; these leaders’ expertise in research and discovery, ease of ordering, order fulfillment, and customer engagement and service enable them to retain their data, shopper experience and brand.”

While grocers will increase their focus on achieving lift in total in-store spend, growing visits and driving loyalty with mobile-centric shoppers, Ian Vaisman, senior digital marketing manager of Austin, Texas-based Dosh, said: “The use of new solutions like card-linked offers that can deliver proven return on advertising spend and direct ties to purchases will increase in the future as these solutions allow brands to tie their ad campaigns to physical store transactions through the use of mobile—the one device that seamlessly connects the online to offline shopping journey.”

“Like retailers in other channels, grocers cannot afford to or minimize the importance of digitization and digital maturity,” Pant concludes. “It’s the bottom line.”

The top 25 Digital Maturity Benchmark leading retailers are:

  1. BJ’s Wholesale Club

Region: US

  1. Carrefour

Region: Europe

  1. Albert Heijn

Region: Europe

  1. LeShop

Region: Europe

  1. Auchan

Region: Europe

  1. The Kroger Co.

Region: US

  1. Costco Wholesale Club

Region: US

  1. Target Corp.

Region: US

  1. Rewe

Region: Europe

  1. Walmart

Region: US

  1. SPAR

Region: Europe

  1. Wegmans Food Markets

Region: US

  1. Monoprix

Region: Europe

  1. Hy-Vee

Region: US

  1. H-E-B

Region: US

  1. Eroski

Region: Europe

  1. Safeway

Region: US 

  1. Albertsons Cos.

Region: US

  1. Waitrose

Region: Europe

  1. Family Fare

Region: US

  1. Coop at Home

Region: Europe

  1. Cub Foods

Region: US

  1. Sainsbury

Region: Europe

  1. Metro

Region: Europe

  1. SuperValu

Region: Europe

Exclusive insights from the global Digital Maturity Benchmark Study will be presented during a complimentary webcast on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019, at 1 p.m. CST/2 p.m. EST. Click here to register now to secure a spot today.

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