According to Statista, online grocery shopping is the fastest growing purchase channel both in terms of value and growth. In 2018, Mintel reported that UK consumers spent 12.3bn (up 9% from

2017), and this figure is set to reach 13.6bn in 2019 with online grocery shopping accounting for 10% of all grocery shopping. These figures show that the market for online grocery shopping

is growing especially among the 24–34 age category (or the ‘millennials’) where 61% of people in this category were reported to have done some online grocery shopping at least once. The

opportunities for retailers in growing categories like these are huge, and there is a need to intensify efforts towards gaining competitive advantage in the crowded online marketplace for

understand how best to deliver the most value to customers, it is important to first understand the customers’ journey and experiences as well as where their strongest and most accessible

desires lie. WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CUSTOMER TRENDS IN ONLINE GROCERY RETAIL? The key takeaways from Opinium Retail Tracker’s 2018 survey demonstrated that * 75% of all UK shoppers tend to do

weekly ‘big shops’ * 40% of 25–34-year-olds regularly shop online * 3 in 5 shoppers make more health-focused shopping decisions * 7 in 10 shoppers claim that most of the meals they cook are

put together from scratch (using raw ingredients) This means that online grocery shopping trends are moving towards weekly ‘big shops’ with a need for value in bulk buying, online shopping

within key age groups, and health-focused shopping decisions leading to meals being cooked from scratch using raw ingredients. The fact that 70% of UK shoppers claim to cook their meals from

scratch is one half of the equation. In the second half, it is important to understand how consumers in this demographic do this in practice, and if there are any trends which could be

beneficial for online retailers in the quest for gaining competitive advantage. For this, we turn to Google, the largest search engine on the universe for data. WHAT DO CONSUMERS SEARCH FOR

WHEN IT COMES TO COOKING MEALS FROM SCRATCH? Recipes. Google reports that 59% of 25–34 year olds cook with reference to recipes on their mobile devices. The research goes a level deeper, and

identifies 3 key stages within the investigative process where there are opportunities highlighted for online retailers to gain some competitive advantage from consumer behaviours. * The

Spark phase where curiosity about what to cook is at the highest level. Google reports that searches for ‘best recipes’ is up year-on-year. While two-thirds of millennials turn to recipes

because they find choosing what to cook the least enjoyable part of the cooking process, this does not hinder an attempt at creativity in the kitchen. Google advises brands to take advantage

of this with specific cooking ideas, possibly with ‘hacks’ of existing ideas to “turn the stressful experience into a fun exploration.” * The preparation phase is the next stage where

consumers begin actually begin to look for how to actually prepare the dish they have decided on. Google classifies this as how-to content, which describes the cooking process in detail,

with added uniqueness in terms of new flavours. Their research showed that 40% of searchers picked a brand featured in a recipe because it added a new flavour to a known dish. Google urges

brands to take advantage of this by positioning themselves in the discovery and consideration stages putting a focus on what consumers can do with a certain ingredient or tool. * The cooking

phase. The final stage which Google terms as the cooking stage is focused on the search for guidance after the cooking process has begun. This features questions such as “what temperature

to bake chicken?”. Key features of this phase include the role of video as 68% of millennials say that they also watch videos while cooking. As this stage progresses, consumers identify

condiments that they are in need of, and for brands, this is a potential opportunity for product placement. Google reports that 39% of millennials report making a purchase from inside their

kitchens and advises that brands can also think beyond recipes and how-tos and consider ways to promote a fun and social cooking experience. With both halves of the equation in view, it is

important to note that major retailers are looking to break away from the old pattern of monotonous food shopping and entice shoppers with more fun and interactive shopping experiences. This

means that a retailer looking to stand out should be able to combine both halves of the equation — the desire of customers to purchase healthy, raw food ingredients, with the provision of

recipes and meal plans to help customers not just make purchase decisions but also to enable them to purchase. The difference a potential customer whose first contact point is a product, and

one whose first contact point is a recipe is clear. On a product page, the possibilities for engagement are limited and the only actions available to the viewer are “Add to basket” and

“Leave page”. If the customer’s intent is not defined and there are no opportunities for engagement, then the obvious action would be to leave the page and browse other products. The same

customer with ill-defined intent on a recipe page would meet more opportunities for interaction, and exposure to many products in use on one page. Furthermore, a purchase-enabled page with

all these elements offers customers even fewer reasons to “Leave page” and more reasons to “Add to basket”, ensuring that purchasing opportunities are kept high. WHAT SOLUTION DOES NORTHFORK

OFFER? Northfork’s magic bullet brings all these elements together and offers online grocery retailers the perfect solution for getting ahead of the competition in the crowded marketplace.

By increasing the level of interaction with the consumer using mediums they already engage with — recipes and meal plans — Northfork’s pioneering technology effectively converts browsers

into loyal, repeat purchasers on behalf of online grocery retailers. sing Northfork’s powerful, personalised shop-by-recipe platform, retailers are able to entice potential customers away

from the competition with a superior, personalised shopping experience with high potential for repeat orders. With multiple products featured on each recipe page, retailers stand to benefit

from increased conversion rates as customers find what they are searching for, and increased average order value as they add multiple items per order to their basket. As the pioneering

technology which makes this possible resides within properties owned by the retailers rather than third-party websites, value is retained on the retailer’s websites and customers are able to

go from ‘undecided’ to ‘purchased’ in as few clicks as possible. Further opportunities exist in the possibility to tailor recipe suggestions to individual preferences, taking into account

dietary restrictions such as allergies and food intolerances. There are also opportunities for increased revenue sources in the creation of brand promotion campaigns. Standing out in the

competitive online grocery space is certainly a difficult task, but it is not impossible to attract and keep new customers by using simple innovations that customers find useful. Put

yourself in the customers shoes — if you were a customer looking for healthy dinner ideas, would you rather open a tab to search, another tab to watch a recipe video and another buy

ingredients? Or would you be happy to be able to perform all 3 actions on the page belonging to the first retailer that offers the service? That’s why we’re here. Northfork is now available

in the UK to discuss how to bring our magic growth sauce to your online grocery retail business. Just contact us on +44 20 39 60 74 84 and we would be pleased to help you drive your sales

up. REFERENCES Appnova (2019) How technology is simplifying online grocery shopping https://www.appnova.com/how-technology-is-simplifying-online-grocery-shopping/ Oinium (2019) Opinium

retail tracker https://www.opinium.co.uk/opinium-retail-tracker/ Statista (2019) Online grocery shopping in the United Kingdom — statistics and facts

https://www.statista.com/topics/3144/online-grocery-shopping-in-the-united-kingdom/ Retail Insights (2019) UK 2018 online grocery spend hits £12.3bn

https://www.retail-insight-network.com/news/uk-2018-online-grocery-spend/ Think With Google (2015) Cooking trends among millenials: welcome to the digital kitchen

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/cooking-trends-among-millennials/amp/