Technology is continuously evolving the way in which consumers interact with brands. And it’s imperative for businesses to keep up with these trends in order to consistently exceed customer expectations.
As part of our regular Flash Points, pulse surveys of everyday consumers across North America on a wide range of issues affecting customer experiences, we asked consumers about their grocery purchasing habits and how they feel about brands using self-serve kiosks. Here we’ll explore what the data has to say about:
Are consumers embracing alternative shopping methods for groceries?
While digital ordering has been a major trend for prepared-food purchases, consumers are still opting to shop for groceries the old-fashioned way.
- Traditional in-store purchases are far and away the most popular way for consumers to buy groceries with 98% reporting they shop in-store followed by 41% who reported they have made a purchase via a store’s app or website for pickup.
- Over half of consumers, 53% shop for groceries 2-3 times a week.
- Price is the most important factor when choosing a grocery product, with 92% of consumers saying it is extremely important, followed by quality and freshness — both being extremely important to 82% of consumers.
- Inflation has had a varying effect on grocery purchases with an even number of consumers reporting their purchases have increased, decreased, and stayed the same.
Could self-serve kiosks make cashiers obsolete?
Overall consumers are reporting a preference for interacting with cashiers over self-serve kiosks, but this is changing among younger generations.
- Overall, 24% of consumers reported that the technology available at a restaurant influences whether they return to that location, however this number increases to 34% among those aged 25-44 (i.e. predominantly millennials).
- Just over half of consumers, 52%, prefer placing an order with a cashier and 24% prefer to do so through a self-serve kiosk, but this evens out more among the predominantly millennials group to 36% preferring cashiers and 38% preferring kiosks.
- The leading reason among consumers who prefer ordering through a cashier is they find it easier to make customizations while the top reason among those who prefer self-serve kiosks is they find the transaction quicker.
- Consumers are split with 49% saying they would seek another fast-food restaurant where they could order from a cashier if their preferred location only offered self-serve kiosks.
- Conversely, 17% of consumers would seek another fast-food restaurant where they could order from a self-serve kiosk of their preferred location only offered cashiers.
- While 12% of consumers find themselves buying more when ordering through a self-serve kiosk and 15% find themselves buying more when ordering from a cashier, 73% see their purchase method having no impact on the size of their order.
What’s your burning question?
We want to help you make informed business decisions. Each of our Flash Points typically collect between 1500-3000 responses in a 24-48 hour period — free of charge!
If you have a burning question, submit your question and the results will be emailed to you the results once the data has been collected. Submit your question here or email letschat@intouchinsight.com.
