Many people who shop for groceries online include fresh produce in their virtual carts.
The Packer recently surveyed more than 1,500 consumers about online grocery and produce. Among those respondents who had shopped for groceries online in the last 60 days, more than half had bought produce as part of those orders.
The vast majority of respondents who bought produce online said they were pleased with the overall quality of their fruits and vegetables — 74% of shoppers rated it 4/5 or 5/5.
Most significantly, 90% of people who had ordered produce online before said they planned to do so again in the future.
Among folks who don't regularly shop online for groceries, produce remains an obstacle, though only 13% of survey respondents mentioned it as their top reason for not regularly ordering groceries for pickup or delivery. More people reported that they just like going to the grocery store (34%); that they want to make sure they get exactly what they want and not a substitute item (16%); and that they don't want to pay a delivery fee (13%).
Interest in online grocery has grown as pickup and delivery options have increased across the U.S. The biggest players in the industry are investing heavily in this growing segment of the business, in part due to the threat of Amazon using its delivery network as a way to capture a meaningful share of the market. Walmart has built infrastructure for grocery pickup at more than 3,000 locations, with more than 1,400 stores also equipped to offer same-day grocery delivery. Kroger is spending hundreds of millions on automated fulfillment centers. Albertsons recently expanded its partnership to build micro-fulfillment centers in existing stores. Dozens of other chains are partnering with Instacart for delivery.
Produce has often been tabbed as an element that limits the potential of online grocery growth, but the category isn't the barrier that it once was. Check out more stats below, and then check out the second page of this article to see how retailers like Walmart, Albertsons, Rouses Markets, Tops Friendly Markets and Raley's are handling produce in the context of online grocery.
