The Future of Grocery Stores Isn’t About Selling Groceries — It’s About Selling This
In the not-so-distant future grocery stores probably won’t exist. At least, not in their current form.
According to one estimate, growth in online grocery sales will double that of in-person shopping over the next five years. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
COVID-19 lockdowns spooked a lot of customers. Rather than risk an infection they started ordering groceries online. The ease of picking up groceries or having them delivered without having to set foot inside a physical store stuck. Now more and more customers are following suit, swapping a trip to the store for a few swipes on a phone.
Consumer behaviors around shopping have changed writ large and it’s evident everywhere you go. Fast food joints have installed special shelves for DoorDash drivers to make it easier for them to pick up orders. Some places, like Chipotle, have created separate prep stations to manage online orders. And if you’ve been to a grocery store lately, you’ve probably noticed a legion of store employees picking and packing online orders right from the store’s shelves.
The shift to online ordering is significant, but not just because it’s convenient for consumers. Retailers have spent decades building massive stores with huge footprints. In…
