Target, Amazon, Kroger and Others Have Invested $28 Billion in E-Commerce in 18 Months.
Brittain Ladd @forbes.com
Israel-based CommonSense Robotics predicts online grocery delivery penetration will reach 15% to 20%... [+] of the market by 2023.
A new report by CommonSense Robotics has identified several startling facts about the lengths grocery retailers have taken to increase their ability to meet customer demand for groceries ordered online. 2018 was a turning point for the grocery industry due to the massive amount of capital invested in e-commerce. According to the report, retailers like Target, Amazon, Kroger and others have invested $28 billion in e-commerce in just the last 18 months.
In many ways, food and groceries are the new oil. Of all the purchases made on an annual basis by consumers, food and groceries are purchased the most. Companies like Amazon, Walmart, Google (which has a woeful strategy for groceries) and Uber all have a desire to become a leader in groceries. With an annual market of nearly $800 billion, groceries are strategic hence the reason why so many companies are trying to win the grocery wars.
According to the report by CommonSense Robotics, in the zeal to become the leader in groceries, many retailers are not investing in the right initiatives and instead, are failing in three key areas: customer proposition, profitability, and online grocery penetration. I will add that grocery retailers continue to seek out solutions to solve individual problems vs. taking a holistic approach to their business.
