In the fall of 2015, I moved into a 5^th floor walkup on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. (My strategy was always to run up and skip steps when I could).  Soon after settling in, I found myself a frequent user of Fresh Direct, often ordering my groceries for delivery, whether it was because of unexpected late nights in the office or to avoid missing my 7 p.m. spin class.  Convenience was key.

Fast forward to 2021.  This March online grocery spending was up 37% from March 2020, when social distancing and stay-at-home orders were just beginning.¹ The difference here?  While I chose to rely on these services that best suited my living situation and work schedule at the time, consumers in 2020 were forced to transition to delivery apps to follow the pandemic protocol.  My father was a prime example.  A man who has always preferred to shop in-store and rarely uses mobile apps outside of the “everyday” ones (i.e. weather, news) was now comparing Shipt vs. Instacart’s customer service and exchanging text messages with his personal shopper to confirm approval of replacement items.  He certainly wasn’t the only one new to doing so.

In the first month of the pandemic, Instacart, Walmart Grocery, and Shipt saw their daily downloads surge by 218%, 160%, and 124%, respectively.  In addition, the Target app broke records for daily downloads with more than 53,100 daily downloads compared to the month prior at 25,000.²

Now, 14 months later, vaccines are readily available, and the world is continuing to open back up (insert the Pointer Sisters’ “I’m so excited” here).  So, what does this mean for the future of grocery apps, and how should advertisers tailor their marketing strategy?

People’s shopping habits will continue to evolve post-pandemic as living through more than a year of distanced living, developing new habits and adjusting to cultural norms has naturally changed how most of us shop.  According to Harris Poll data of those who bought groceries online during the pandemic, 77% indicated they are likely to continue doing so. Instacart also predicts the future of online grocery shopping will be defined by three enduring themes – speed and convenience, added accessibility, and a personal touch.³ If this holds true, it is even more reason for marketers, specifically those in the food and grocery space, to reach their intended audience on their mobile devices.

Over the years, the key to mobile targeting has always been to reach a person in the right place at the right time. Marketers in the CPG industry can strategically do so through Acxiom’s location-based and mobile targeting capabilities. Location-based capabilities help identify people that have been to competitors and then market to them based on their specific tastes (a coffee enthusiast, for example, like myself) and further complete the journey by offering local promotions and/or highlighting features available in that specific area. Through Acxiom Mobile, the collection of app usage and connections activity helps build specific personas to not only understand the user’s shopping and device behavior but further create and distribute to those audiences into the marketplace.

As we continue to navigate through this post-pandemic world, it’s imperative that marketers keep up with their target audience’s new shopping behaviors. If you happen to be one of those marketers, reach out to Data Guru to help make your campaign a successful one.