Online Food shopping Is On The Rise thanks to discount coupons and home delivery services – reveals study by Emporium experts. E-commerce has grown considerably in recent years, so much so that today 4 out of 10 consumers worldwide shop online. Among the main reasons why people shop online, besides convenience and competitive prices, is the possibility to use discount coupons and promotional codes – at least that’s according to a study conducted by Emporium experts.
E-commerce sales worldwide are growing impressively fast – 2.3 billion consumers made at least one online purchase in 2022. From 2017, the number of e-shoppers has increased by 40%. The estimated growth of e-commerce is set to $6.4 trillion by 2024.
In 2022, the food and beverage sector was one of the fastest-growing e-commerce industries, with around 21 % of growth. What are the reasons why consumers tend to opt for e-shops over brick-and-mortar stores? The study conducted by emporium.com.ua experts reveals the importance of discount coupons and promotional codes in consumers’ purchasing decisions.
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Online sales of food and beverages are increasing
According to recent statistics, online sales of food and beverages are set to increase by over 23% in 2023, following growth of around 21% in 2022.
In detail, the numbers reveal that 4 out of 10 consumers (39.8%) now do their grocery shopping online. This compares with 37% in 2021 and 31.6% in 2020. E-commerce now accounts for 7.2% of food sales, compared with 6.3% in 2021 and 4.8% in 2020. The Chinese are the e-commerce champions, with 88.8% of their online food purchases, compared with 35.2% of Europeans.
What do people buy most online? According to the study by emporium.com.ua, food products bought on special offer accounted for 21.6% of sales in 2022. Beverages were the most dynamic sector, with growth of 2.9% driven by sports drinks, energy drinks, and carbonated soft drinks. Food purchases (excluding dairy products) rose by 2.5%, with dairy products recording 2% growth.
While some products recorded growth, this was only the case for some. Wines and champagne, for example, were down 4% in 2021, while household products were down 1.1%.
In Europe, France has now overtaken Great Britain but is still a long way behind China
Even if it has not reached the levels of non-food purchases, full online shopping is making inroads in many European countries. According to the statistics, the French – for example – spent just over 6 billion euros on the web for their everyday shopping in the last year. That’s 6.6% of the French food market. This puts the Hexagone in the lead for the first time, ahead of the British, another long-standing fan of online shopping. But the French are still a long way behind Asian consumers – led by the Chinese – who do over 80% of their food shopping on the Web. Digital grocery shopping has become popular also in the US – in the last year, 54.3% of US consumers purchased at least once their groceries online.
Reasons why people shop groceries online
The study reveals that competitive prices, convenience, special offers, or home delivery services are some of the main reasons consumers shop for food and beverages online.
Online retailers ensure that the experience of online shopping corresponds to the in-person shopping experience in brick-and-mortar stores. Emporium suggests that online retailers seek ways to attract and retain customers through promotional codes and discount coupons. They can be a highly effective tool for enticing potential customers to try their goods and rewarding the most loyal.
Promotional codes and discount coupons
The study states that 80% of consumers are more likely to buy a new brand if they have a coupon or promo code. What’s more, 90% of consumers now actively use coupons. These statistics demonstrate the power of promo codes and their potential impact on acquiring and retaining customers for repeated grocery purchases.
Promotional codes are becoming increasingly popular among businesses of all sizes, and for good reason. According to the survey, 78% of consumers use promotional codes, and 84% look for a good deal when shopping online. By being proactive in their distribution, retailers can attract new customers and retain loyal ones, thereby increasing their revenues. Moreover, 67% of consumers have made a grocery purchase they hadn’t originally planned to make purely because they found a coupon or discount.
Home delivery service and drive-through
Another reason why consumers opt for online grocery shopping is convenience. More precisely, convenient home delivery of food products is winning over consumers, especially those in big cities. A study reveals that 63% of the population of large cities are potential consumers of online delivery.
While in the EU, home delivery is in the majority, the French do most of their shopping at the drive-through, a method of picking up in-car groceries purchased online. While this is a worldwide phenomenon, France and its drive-through are an exception in the international market. Indeed, in all other countries, e-commerce is primarily dominated by home delivery services.
Similarly to special offers, home delivery enables local retailers to build customer loyalty and win new ones.
Emporium is an independent discount aggregator that cooperates with domestic and international brands. More than 10,000 up-to-date promo codes, bonuses, promotions, and discount coupons are available on the site.
