How has the shift to online supermarket shopping affected retailers’ market share?
Author: ronny
Published: 1st May 2022
The opportunity
Fueled by digitisation which was supercharged by the pandemic, more and more consumers are supermarket shopping online. In fact, the online market grew from £20.3bn in 2020 to £29.6bn in 2021, presenting a huge opportunity for supermarkets who want to expand their market share.
The problem
In the physical world, market share is grown almost exclusively by opening new stores as consumers largely shop locally. But to thrive in the booming world of online grocery shopping, brands need smart marketing strategies to come out on top.
So what is the market situation today? Which supermarket brands are benefitting from this shift to online? How can brands get the detailed view of their customers they need to thrive?
The solution
Answering these questions necessitates access to Single-Source data, which maps consumers’ online and offline behaviour, including viewing habits, location, browsing and purchase data, over a period of time for the same individual.
ViewersLogic derives this information from our unique consumer panel of over 8000 people and this opt-in database enables us to look into each brand’s journey to purchase to understand how media affects it.
Using ViewersLogic’s Single-Source data, we looked at the offline and online market shares for the top 6 supermarkets in the UK (Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and The Co-op) during the month of February 2022.
The results: How Single-Source data can help unlock market share
Our data showed that ASDA’s online market share was 75% higher than their offline market share.
Whilst the success of ASDA’s online market share could be due to several factors, foremost among them appears to be economic circumstances such as the rising cost of living. For example, consumers looking to save on their groceries are highly unlikely to drive further to visit a cheaper supermarket but will switch to a cost effective grocery store online.
This is also supported by the fact that Waitrose had the largest loss in their online market share compared to the physical world at -67%.
Another explanation could be ASDA’s effective marketing campaigns. In a recent report we published, we saw that ASDA had the highest uplift in online purchase from their TV campaign compared to other supermarkets.
A Single-Source data approach is key to true consumer understanding
These insights highlight the true value of Single-Source data for leading supermarkets looking to gain market share online.
The bottom line is that in this digital first age, supermarkets need to monitor all the different ways individuals interact with them offline and online and gain unrivalled data on how their own campaigns are performing in comparison to their competitors.
For more information on who is winning the online supermarket market share battle, download our report.
Download report here