Talking Retail Grocery and product news for independent retailers
Research from Lumina Intelligence shows that in these stores home delivery accounts for 7% of sales.
Alice Dolling, senior insight manager at Lumina Intelligence, said: “2020 saw an acceleration in online shopping that we could never have predicted. Nearly one-in-five shoppers changed their primary method of grocery shopping to online, highlighting the opportunity available. As demand increases, convenience stores have a great opportunity to drive greater basket spend and expand the potential catchment area of their store by offering delivery.”
The UK Wholesale Market Report 2020/21 also highlights that nearly half (48%) of convenience store retailers have used new technologies when shopping online with a wholesaler or in depot since the pandemic began. The most popular tech solutions used were: barcode scanners (41%), supplier apps (13%), and supplier loyalty schemes (8%).
Dolling added: “The pandemic has placed significant strain on retailers, who have faced incredibly high demand and footfall over the last year. As a result, efficiency has been key to ensure they remain in their stores as much as possible. Barcode scanners and apps are great ways of streamlining the shopping process for retailers. Furthermore, this behaviour is now second nature and will likely continue once restrictions ease.”
In addition, the report identifies the channels retailers use to purchase stock, which has not changed significantly during the pandemic. On average, just over half of a retailer’s stock is purchased from a wholesale depot and just over a quarter from wholesale websites. The remaining proportion of stock is sourced from a combination of wholesaler apps, supermarkets, online retailers, and sales reps/vans.
