Meal kits and online grocery shopping were interesting niches for a while. Then came 2020—and so many people sheltered in place that the services behind all that food were put to the test. Apparently, they were successful enough that new research shows a majority of people will likely continue buying food online and expect to get it delivered post-haste.
First is a survey from June conducted by researchers at Piplsay, which got a massive response of 30,544 Americans over the age of 18 (plus 9,100 more people in the United Kingdom). Its findings indicate that 48% of responders from the US tried a meal kit in the past year, 45% will keep ordering meal kits, and 83% said it cut down on their visits to restaurants.
But few of us would want to live on meal kits alone. That’s where home grocery delivery comes into play. Services such as Instacart, Doordash, and Postmates shop for your food and deliver it to your home, but some companies are attempting to change the paradigm. Amazon’s trying in-garage delivery, for example. And a startup called HomeValet wants to sell an outdoor refrigeration unit called the Smart Box that will ensure deliveries don’t go bad in the heat or get stolen. They currently have a trial going with Walmart.
HomeValet had OnePoll conducted a survey over four days in June, querying 2,000 people in the US about home delivery: 53% said they would be using home delivery more in the future, and of those, 83% said it would become their primary method of shopping. And that could happen within the next five years.
People want more control over delivery, though. They want secure packages and better timing, and 57% are more than willing to abandon online shopping if they don’t get those things.
The era of mourning brick-and-mortar stores started a long time ago, but it’s pretty clear that the malls are not the only physical retail locations that have something to worry about. Grocery chains and local retailers need to reinvent themselves for delivery and internet ordering, or they’re going to spoil.
