Insights to Keep in Mind for Grocery Influencer Campaigns

Buying groceries online — whether for pick-up or delivery — may be a consumer behavior that picked up during the pandemic, but it’s continuing to grow rapidly. In 2021, more than half of American adults were digital grocery buyers, and by 2025, the industry is predicted to double to $243 billion in the United States. If your marketing team is tasked with creating and distributing influencer campaigns for a grocery brand that offers digital ordering, get up to speed with these insights and tips for shopper marketing.

Digital grocery campaign tips

Highlight perishable items

Currently, perishables are driving the most frequent purchases. These include dairy, meat, frozen foods, fruits and vegetables, bread, bakery items, and prepared foods and dairy items. 

Frequent buyers, defined as those who shop for groceries online more than once per month, are more likely to purchase perishables online. Focus your influencer marketing efforts around the freshness and on-time deliverability of these items, and your brand will have a better chance of converting infrequent digital grocery buyers into frequent users.

What might this look like? Share images and videos of ripe fruit, offer to exchange or refund unacceptable perishables, guarantee delivery times (to preserve freshness), or easy online ordering for in-store pickup. Our shopper influencer marketing campaigns show how easy it is for consumers to add a CPG or non-CPG brand’s products to their online carts and then pick up their items in-store.

Need an example? Check out a recent Walmart influencer campaign we did:

Focus on existing digital grocery users

Frequent digital grocery buyers will drive the next phases of sales growth. Obviously, that’s not to say you shouldn’t market to consumers who haven’t readily adopted digital grocery shopping yet. However, digital grocery buyers tend to increase their purchase frequency over time, and forecasts predict that industry growth will come from existing buyers spending more.

In addition, industry reports indicate that the more digital grocery buyers shop online, the less likely they are to purchase certain product categories in a brick-and-mortar store. Consumer packaged goods, which include things like laundry detergent, pantry items, paper goods, cleaning products, and toothpaste, are having a moment thanks to dedicated digital buyers. 

So, how do you market to frequent digital grocery buyers, including the 36.2% of whom place weekly orders? Look at each buyer’s shopping history and offer recommendations based on not only what they’ve purchased in the past but also when to know when they might be running low. 

Convert in-store shoppers to online before the competition

A May 2023 survey of U.S. digital grocery shoppers asking how often they’ve purchased groceries online in the last 12 months yielded the following responses:

• 2 or more times a week (16.3%)
• Once a week (19.9%)
• 2 to 3 times a month (31.8%)
• Once a month (18.5%)
• Less than once a month (13.5%)

A quick crunch of numbers shows that 68% of those surveyed would be considered frequent digital grocery buyers. So how do you capture the remaining 32%?

1. Understand why your customers shop for groceries online

Before promoting digital grocery shopping, you need to understand what’s driving consumers to use it. Consider taking a survey to gather insights about the features, benefits, and even downsides of online grocery shopping. 

Is it convenient? Are they saving on gas money because they live too far from the store? Are they too pressed for time with a busy schedule? Does the stress of crowds at the store cause anxiety? Are the lines to check out exceptionally long during peak hours when they would normally be able to shop? Are they unable to pack, transport, and carry bags of groceries?

Find out the “why” from your current digital grocery customers, and you may even get a new perspective on your unique selling proposition. 

2. Let them know your brand offers a seamless online experience 

Poor customer service continues to be one of the main reasons consumers switch businesses, and your digital presence needs to match or surpass your customers’ in-store shopping experience.

Your branding for both sides of your company should align in every way to present a seamless experience for shoppers, down to the responses they receive from customer service, your dedication to a timely checkout, and the quality of the products and interaction they receive. 

Need an example? Promote using vetted delivery people or branded vehicles rather than outsourcing to third parties. 

Our shopper campaigns make it easily for customers to add products to their carts and check out for a quick pickup experience.

3. Entice and engage on social

Posting discounts, freebies, and limited-time trials can entice consumers to dip their toes into online grocery shopping, but you’ll also need to build trust and authenticity by engaging in conversations. 

Host polls to find out what potential customers want and expect from their digital grocery shopping experience, and then share the results. Consider using simple, easy-to-digest infographics and take the time to point out the features and benefits that your brand offers in ways that align with the poll results. 

Be sure to capture and upcycle user-generated content, such as reviews and customer stories, to boost your brand’s perceived value of trust.

Armed with these insights and tips, your brand can attract new shoppers, impress and upsell existing customers, and continue to earn the loyalty and business of your top promoters.