Online Grocery Orders Bulging

With the traditional holiday shopping season under way, a time-saving technology is establishing itself as an essential tool for holiday shoppers: online grocery shopping.

The chief of MyWebGrocer, the leading provider of grocery e-commerce services, said there’s a pronounced spike in the number of online grocery shopping orders during the holidays. “It’s at the intersection of tradition and technology,” said MyWebGrocer CEO Rich Tarrant. “When we chart out the number of customer orders, you see a significant spike the week leading up to Thanksgiving.”

Online grocery orders increased 24 percent in 2010 over last year in the week before Thanksgiving. “For us, that says two things. First, consumers have come to embrace online grocery shopping as a time saver, and everyone knows what a precious commodity time is during the holidays; it’s easier to have someone else do the shopping for you,” Tarrant said. “But the second part of the story is about trust. These consumers have put their trust in the grocery retailers to provide quality goods for their most important family meals of the year. That’s a pretty powerful connection between the shopper and the grocer.”

Aside from the spike in online sales, MyWebGrocer’s data shows a split between shoppers sticking to traditional, established brands and private label. When it comes to the stuffing and pie crust, shoppers go for established brands, but choose private label for turkey.

MyWebGrocer creates and manages digital solutions for clients including websites, digital media, online circulars, e-mail marketing initiatives, mobile applications, social media strategies and customer acquisition programs. MyWebGrocer works with more than 110 retailers nationally, including ShopRite, Publix, Food Lion and Winn-Dixie.