Thailand experiencing over 306% year-on-year growth
Baking, soft drinks and stationery products are fastest growing categories
Not all brands benefiting from multichannel surge
Multichannel grocery shopping is surging across the globe, according to a major new study by the customer science company dunnhumby. The report has analysed the shopping habits of seven million people in 14 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
The report reveals that huge growth is taking place across the full spectrum of multichannel market development, with nascent markets such as Thailand growing by over four times year-on-year.
Even the most established online grocery categories are still enjoying significant growth globally. The three categories with the highest share of online sales – frozen meat, baby food and care, and canned food – have an average annual online growth rate of 21%.
The report underlines how a developed multichannel strategy is vital for brands. The vast majority of online shoppers are multichannel consumers, with less than 1% of the global population shopping online only.
In Thailand, baking and stationery products saw huge growth (by 416% and 619% respectively) as the Thai public becomes more aware and knowledgeable about online sales channels.
Brands are also more likely to succeed if their target market closely matches the profile of the typical online shopper – generally younger, affluent consumers with young children.
The report also shows that not all brands are benefiting equally from the growth of multichannel, with many experiencing a decline in their online performance or their online sales growth is lower than in-store.
“It is clear from the survey that consumers are changing the way they make purchases. As new online channels become more sophisticated, Thai consumers will continue to explore their options when it comes to multichannel shopping and brands need to be flexible and take all opportunities available,” Teeradet Dumrongbhalasirt, Head of Connect Media, dunnhumby Thailand said.
The dunnhumby Global Trends Unit identifies the customer trends that will shape the future of the retail industry. It uses dunnhumby’s behavioural and attitudinal data on over one billion customers worldwide to enable decision makers to formulate superior forward looking strategies. The report can be downloaded here:http://www.dunnhumby.com/uk/multichannelmovement