Walmart’s Grocery Pickup Shoppers Aren’t Just Users, They’re Advocates

Walmart’s grocery pickup service is experiencing rapid growth with no signs of slowing down. Walmart plans to have 3,100 locations offering grocery pickup by the end of 2019. To explore the usage of this retail technology, Numerator, a market intelligence firm, recently gathered data surrounding the service.

Numerator data showed Grocery Pickup shoppers are young, affluent households with children. They have the money to spend with little time to spare. These shoppers are willing to spend more using Grocery Pickup and tend to be more loyal to Walmart among other Grocery Pickup services.

Further, Numerator broke down how shoppers shop Grocery Pickup. Compared to in-store baskets, Walmart Grocery Pickup baskets are much larger and get larger with use. In addition, Walmart Grocery Pickup is more than grocery items, including health, beauty, and household item making up more than 50% of Grocery Pickup trips.

Data also showed that Walmart has the most to gain from Grocery Pickup, as consumers prefer it over the in-store experience. And when comparing Walmart Grocery Pickup against competitors, shoppers are satisfied with Walmart and will recommend it to others. 

“A majority of Walmart’s Online Grocery Pickup users are not just users, but advocates, which projects positively for Walmart in the long-term,” Numerator reported. “Cultivating more advocates by delivering a consistently positive pick-up experience, while continuing to expand the service to more store locations, should position Walmart well in the omnichannel grocery arena.”

To further the service, Walmart dedicated around 40% of all ad spending to promoting online ordering over the past 13 months. Specifically, 67% of Walmart’s TV ad spend in January and February of 2019 focused on online ordering. The retail giant has also used digital coupons to promote Grocery Pickup from as early as May 2018. The retailer featured a $10 off digital coupon code on the front page of 60% of their circulars since late May 2018, and during late June and mid-July, the offer was upped to $10 off of the shopper’s first three orders.

According to Numerator data:

·       32% Walmart Grocery Pickup shoppers say they have no time to take care of themselves

·       82% of Walmart Grocery Pickup shoppers use their smartphone to shop online

·       59% use their computer to shop online

·       40% are price driven

·       64% find shopping online enjoyable

·       76% save time shopping online

·       52% save money shopping online

The Numerator InfoScout OmniPanel is comprised of more than 500,000 American consumers and tracks purchases from every shopping trip and dining occasion.