Walmart Grocery Pickup is Picking Up (Part 2)
In our previous post, we discussed why Walmart Grocery Pickup – ordering groceries online and picking them up curbside – is one of the core drivers behind the retail giant’s online sales growth. Numerator Insights data tells us that shoppers who use this service tend to be younger, affluent parents who live in the suburbs and want to save time by shopping for groceries online. Valuable shoppers have translated to valuable baskets, with higher spend per trip, more units per trip, and a wider variety of product categories purchased than in-store baskets.
As successful as this service has been thus far, there’s plenty of room for growth. Our data shows that Walmart Grocery Pickup users prefer this service over in-store shopping by a wide margin, and customer satisfaction is very high.
In this post, we’ll discuss how Walmart has promoted grocery pickup and what grocery pickup shoppers mean for the future of retail.
Walmart Ramps Up Promotion of Grocery Pickup
Numerator Ad Intelligence data, which accounts for TV, radio, online video, and online display advertising, tells us that Walmart dedicated approximately 40% of all ad spending to promoting online ordering between February 2018 and February 2019. In fact, two-thirds (67%) of Walmart’s TV ad spend in January and February of 2019 focused on grocery pickup.
These investments included the Super Bowl ad for Walmart Grocery Pickup, which also appeared during the Gold Globes and was repurposed into 15- and 30-second ads to run during many other programs. This ad alone has been supported with an estimated $31 million in total spend.
According to Numerator Promotions Intelligence data, Walmart has also been promoting grocery pickup with digital coupons since May 2018. A “$10 off” digital coupon has been on the front page of 60% of their circulars since late May 2018, and the offer was upped to $10 off for the first three orders from late June through the middle of July.
What Grocery Pickup Shoppers Mean for the Future of Walmart
When shoppers start using Walmart Grocery Pickup, they become more loyal to Walmart. In fact, share of wallet for soft drinks, cheese, water and poultry is significantly higher for grocery pickup purchases than in-store purchases.
Stepping back to look at the larger grocery picture, we see just how much of an impact Walmart Grocery Pickup has on total grocery spend. Walmart captures 34.1% of total grocery spend for that shoppers who have completed at least three Walmart Grocery Pickup shopping trips, compared to just 21.1% of total grocery spend for all Walmart shoppers. Also, more than six in ten Walmart Grocery Pickup shoppers (61%) plan to use the service more frequently, compared to just 6% who plan to use it less.
How You Can Win Grocery Pickup
Grocery pickup is still in its infancy. Online technology and fulfillment processes are still being developed and refined. Retailers and brands still need to figure out, for example, how to avoid losing impulse purchases that typically occur at checkout in a brick-and-mortar store. However, the early success of Walmart Grocery Pickup shows just how valuable this service and users of this service can be. Because shoppers are loyal and overwhelmingly satisfied with grocery pickup, odds of getting a shopper to switch once they’ve entered the online grocery world are slim. Early adoption is key.
Contact Numerator to find out how you brand is performing with online grocery and curbside pickup services. Let us provide insights into your target audience so your products end up in their online grocery baskets first.
