The Coronavirus Era: Where and How Consumers Shop in Food and Nutrition

Delivery

This report comes in PPT.

Key Findings

E-commerce boost on the back of COVID-19 in grocery shopping

E-commerce was already becoming a phenomenon in food shopping pre-COVID-19 with investments from both e-commerce giants such as Amazon and FMCG giants such as Unilever which is focusing on the direct-to-consumer model as a result of soaring online food sales. With the home seclusion effect of COVID-19, the adoption of online buying among global consumers reached record-breaking levels at the expense of in-store shopping and this shift online is expected to stick post-COVID-19.

Speciality and convenience stores suffer from price sensitivity and diminishing foot traffic

COVID-19 changed consumers' priorities in food shopping in line with the downturn in disposable income led by increasing unemployment rates. Consumers increasingly prioritise value for money, which impacted speciality shops that typically offer premium/ artisanal products. Convenience stores were also impacted by the pandemic due to home confinement which reduced foot traffic significantly.

The rise of contactless solutions accelerated by COVID-19

As health took centre stage throughout the pandemic, consumers increasingly sought solutions that enable them to make purchases by reducing the risk of contamination to a minimum. In that context, “contactless” emerged as the safest way for consumers to avoid risky touch points. These health concerns of consumers led retailers to develop solutions, such as fully-automated stores, allowing consumers to avoid all the front-end hassles in brick-and-mortar stores, including scanning and payment.

Subscription models gain traction

Subscription boxes, especially meal kits, had already been gaining traction among urban shoppers wanting to undertake home cooking but spend less time doing so. With the success of initial start-ups specialised in this format, such as HelloFresh, the application of subscription models has been extended to different food categories including snacks. COVID-19 boosted the demand for these models as consumers either want to experience new recipes or indulge themselves with curated boxes.