Online Food Shopping: The Next-And Final-Frontier

Jeremie Bohbot

LOS ANGELES , March 6, 2013 (Off The Menu) – I am not what one would call a tech-savvy individual. I was among the last of my friends to own a laptop; I don’t have the most updated smartphone; and while I once owned a Bluetooth, I could never figure out how to get it to work.

That said, I love online shopping. It’s ridiculously convenient. I find everything I want, at the best prices, and all without ever leaving my home. This love of online shopping is starting to extend to food, as I was recently introduced to ordering Pizza Hut from my computer. What an eye opener! I can order the pizza, use an online coupon and track my pizza’s progress in real time to know exactly when it’s going to be delivered. Now that’s technology!

A recent survey showed I’m not the only one who’s looking favorably at online food shopping. According to the survey by CouponCabin.com, 15% of U.S. adults have shopped online for groceries, while 19% who haven’t plan to do so in the future. Additionally—and this stat particularly jumped out at me—70% of adults who have not shopped online for groceries would be at least somewhat likely to do so if prices were cheaper than store prices.

The top reasons for online food shopping also proved interesting. Sixty-five percent said it would save time, 56% said it would make them less likely to impulse buy because they wouldn’t be tempted by the items in the store, 41% thought online shopping would save them money because you can sometimes find better prices, 38% said it made it easier to plan food menus because of the option to add items to their virtual “cart” during the week, and 36% said online shopping helps with healthy eating because it removes the temptation to buy junk food.

The results are obvious:

Online shopping is the next—and final — frontier.

Nevin Barich is the Food & Beverage Analyst for Industry Intelligence Inc. He is sold on the concept of online food shopping and plans to never enter a grocery store again. He can be reached at n.barich@industryintel.com

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