Shoppers Dread Grocery Checkout, Willing to Offer Their Data for Better Shopping Experiences–but Not Without Reservations

NEW YORK — Incisiva next-generation industry insights firm that helps retailers and brands navigate digital disruption, and Wynshop, the leading provider of digital commerce and fulfillment solutions for local store-based retailers, revealed the findings from their State of Digital Grocery Performance Scorecard for July 2023. The Performance Scorecard reflects the latest analysis of shopper orders, plus interviews of grocery shoppers and executives about the use of personal data and technology. 

The monthly State of Digital Grocery Performance Scorecards are one of many resources available on the Grocery Doppio website. The latest report was built around data analysis of 1.8 million shopper orders and survey results from more than 31,540 shoppers and 3,041 U.S. grocery executives.

This month, Grocery Doppio asked grocery shoppers for their opinions about the use of personal data and technology in grocery. Shoppers delivered a clear message that grocers must improve the typical in-store checkout experience. 84% of grocery shoppers said that they are dissatisfied with checkout speed, while 77% said that in-store checkout was the worst part of their grocery shopping experience.

Notably, 67% of grocery shoppers reported that they would be willing to try new technologies that could make checkout simpler and faster, and 71% said they would be willing to share their personal data in order to achieve that result. However, 94% of respondents expressed concerns that grocers cannot sufficiently protect their biometric data.

More key findings from the July 2023 Performance Scorecard include: 

  • Grocers plan to use more technologies that leverage shopper data
    71% of grocers will increase the number of technologies that use shopper data in the next two years
    Self-checkout led grocers’ 2024 “test or deploy” plans (83%) followed by AI personalization (63%) and computer vision systems (47%)
  • Third-party grocery apps endured their lowest returns of 2023
    —Grocery orders through third-party apps declined yet again, totaling at $1.6 billion dollars in July, down from $2.5 billion in August, 2022
    —Analysis of third-party revenue decline revealed that third parties are on track to drop 40% in 2023 vs 2022
  • Digital Basket sizes were up—for large grocers
    —While the average digital basket size for small grocers (under $10B) was 27 items, the average rose to 43 items for large grocers (over $10b)
    —The average digital basket value across all grocers was $172

“Third party apps are in real trouble,” said Gaurav Pant, Chief Insights Officer of both Incisiv and Grocery Doppio. “As grocers develop their own digital capabilities, we believe that it will become increasingly difficult for outside organizations to deliver value to the marketplace, using their current model.”

“Consumers have spoken,” added Charlie Kaplan, Chief Revenue Officer at Wynshop. “They are absolutely willing to play ball with grocers by contributing their personal data. However, grocers must respond in kind by protecting shoppers’ personal data, and by solving the current problems in the grocery shopping experience—both online and offline.”

Grocery Doppio is a free, independent source of grocery insights and data designed to help grocers jumpstart, accelerate, and sustain digital growth. Each month, Grocery Doppio brings together rich, research-driven grocery content, fact-based observations, inspiring perspectives, and deep performance benchmarks that identify improvement opportunities for grocery retailers. 

To download Grocery Doppio’s “State of Digital Grocery Performance Scorecard: July 2023,” click here.

About Incisiv 

Incisiv is a next-generation industry insights firm that helps retailers and brands navigate digital disruption in their industry. Incisiv offers consumer industry executives responsible for digital transformation a trusted platform to share and learn in a non-competitive setting, and the tools necessary to improve digital maturity, impact, and profitability. More information is available at www.incisiv.com.

About Wynshop

Wynshop is an ambitious team of digital innovators obsessed with a solitary mission—helping grocers and other local store-based retailers grow wildly successful online businesses. Its refreshingly easy-to-use digital commerce platform enables efficient in-house picking, reduces fulfillment costs, and gives retailers the ability to control every facet of their customers’ digital shopping experience. This results in a more personalized customer journey and amplified shopper loyalty. Learn more at www.wynshop.com.