Food Marketing Institute is reporting that as many as 70 percent of consumers will be buying their groceries online as soon as 2024, with Americans spending as much as $100 billion - $850 per household - annually purchasing food over the Internet.
Last year, FMI predicted that digital food retailing would reach saturation in the next decade, but “2017 was a year of disruption.” The organization is now saying that within five to seven years, consumers will purchase their packaged goods online.
According to a Digital Readiness Assessment fielded by the Food Marketing Institute, “many retailers and manufacturers are not ready for the age of online grocery.”
“Based on extensive research and interviews with grocery industry executives, we've found that the classic transformation categories - people, process and technology - provide a roadmap for successful digital transformation.”
An estimated 49 percent of all shoppers bought a packaged good online within the last three months. That includes 61 percent of millennials and 44 percent of baby boomers, 54 percent of affluent households and 40 percent of low-income households.
“The grocery industry is currently in the age of digital experimentation, where the roadmap on how to navigate and achieve real and profitable growth continues to evolve,” Chris Morley, U.S. President FMCG and Retail said in a statement. “While analytics will continue to be critical for retailers and manufacturers to understand the digitally engaged food shopper on a deeper level, a collaborative approach to balancing physical and digital sales strategies is the key to unlocking omnichannel success.”
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