The popularity of apps on smartphones has skyrocketed during the pandemic as consumers more than ever use mobile devices as tools to help save time and money. Grocery shopping apps have particularly become helpful as a way to manage shopping lists and stay in tune with the latest deals. Here’s a look at the growing popularity of grocery apps and how they are helping consumers achieve sustainability.
In 2015 a Nielsen study found that one-third of American consumers had used an app to order groceries, according to the National Grocers Association. The pandemic escalated the practice of online shopping as a social distancing strategy. While many businesses faced uncertain financial challenges, software developers found plenty of work designing e-commerce apps as many businesses were forced to accelerate the adoption of digital transformation.
Grocery apps with delivery services are helping reduce crowds at supermarkets. Stores that provide delivery help limit the vehicles on the road, which helps the environment. In many ways, grocery apps contribute to social sustainability since they make ordering food easier and more convenient for consumers. In the diverse world of grocery apps, some are virtual stores like Peapod while others serve as shopping guides.
Types of Grocery Apps
Grocery app development has blossomed over the past decade to span multiple purposes, which is why different apps have different features. Studies show consumers buy 33% more often when they have a store app on their smartphone to help them navigate through the customer journey. Offering imaginative grocery shopping solutions with a smartphone app has become essential these days to building a loyal following.
The main types of grocery apps facilitate shopping lists, ordering products or services, price comparisons, and incredible bargains. Another type of app is designed to showcase a specific supermarket chain like Kroger. The large grocer makes deliveries and offers weekly digital coupons that can be added to the shopper’s card through the app. Prescriptions can be refilled easily with digital codes.
Grocery delivery apps are gaining in popularity due to shutdowns aimed at limiting public activity during the pandemic. These apps allow users to schedule deliveries to their homes. Some of these apps facilitate a marketplace in which you can hire individuals to handpick fruit and vegetables for you to ensure freshness. You can also hire people to shop for specific recipe items.
Common Features of Grocery Apps
One of the reasons grocery apps have become so popular is they allow people to effortlessly create shopping lists and use their smartphones to make convenient online or in-store purchases. A typical supermarket-specific app assists shoppers with an advanced search tool that lets them find what they’re looking for quickly.
The ability to create and save shopping lists for the future is one of many features that can enhance the customer journey. The list should be easy to update.
Some grocery apps deliver ads to the customer while others are ad-free.
Premium grocery apps are able to read barcodes, which can help speed up the in=store shopping process. Grocery apps of all kinds have become popular with families to track their grocery budgets and keep spending under control.
Advanced apps are equipped with voice recognition software so that shoppers can make a list by speaking into their phones. Google Assistant is the voice technology for Android devices while Siri is the software on Apple devices. Another popular feature that enhances the shopping experience is the ability to share a shopping list with a clerk who can then track down the items. Some grocery apps are designed to sort offers by store or category.
Benefits of Grocery Shopping Mobile Apps
Staying in touch with store customers is the best reason to create a grocery app. For customers, it’s a welcome gift that provides endless reminders and coupons that help them cut costs. Launching loyalty programs through apps is an excellent way to connect with the customer on a personalized level. Once you develop a store app there are endless ideas on how to keep loyal customers coming back simply by informing them about the products in which they’ve shown interest.
One of the many convenient features of a common grocery app is a cost calculator. Giving consumers a simple tool for adding up costs helps them reach purchasing decisions more quickly. As long as the app is user-friendly and doesn’t require a complex registration or login process, it cuts through clutter rather than adds to it. The app must provide enough features to be useful while at the same time not enough to overwhelm the user.
The Walmart app has a “Check-In” button for shoppers when they arrive. The more you can make customer interaction seamless and create the feeling the store is always in their pocket, the more effective and top-of-mind the app will be.
Most Popular Apps for Grocery Shoppers
Some of the most widely-used grocery apps include Amazon Prime Now, Walmart Grocery Delivery, Kroger, Safeway Delivery, and Google Express. Newer emerging apps include AnyList, Instacart, Grocery Pal, and Shipt. Each of these apps is designed to make the in-store and online shopping experience more efficient. Certain apps such as Amazon Fresh require membership while others such as Instacart do not. Consumers searching for a wide range of groceries often choose the Amazon and Walmart apps.
Fans of organic food have widely embraced the Whole Foods Market app, which allows users to browse countless recipes. Instacart is designed to help you find different products from different stores in your neighborhood.
Conclusion
Grocery shopping apps are here to stay even after the pandemic since they help improve the customer online and in-store shopping experience. Consumers can find and order products faster and have the goods delivered to their door. Selecting the right app features for your store depends on your relationship with customers and the degree to which you want to empower them with tools to learn more about your brand and build product knowledge.
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