Author: Rose Spicer, Global Senior Director, Oracle Retail

We are honored to partner with Flink, as highlighted in our Q4 earnings announcement on June 13, 2022. The online supermarket Flink puts a new spin on “speed to market” by delivering groceries in minutes—including fresh fruit and vegetables—to consumers in cities in Austria, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. The company chose Oracle Retail Merchandising and Oracle Fusion Cloud Financials to create more efficiency across their operations, inventory, and financials.

Read the full story: Oracle Announces Fiscal 2022 Fourth Quarter Financial Results

Changing consumer behavior

In the months since COVID-19 lockdowns began, consumers have formed new habits. In fact, 92% of consumers surveyed will continue online grocery shopping moving forward, with 7 in 10 consumers anticipating they will shop online as much as or more frequently than they have during the pandemic. Overwhelmingly, consumers who bought groceries online had them delivered, with nearly 3 in 4 consumers opting for home delivery. However, only 34% in France preferred home delivery vs. 85% of consumers in the UK.

Maintaining the grocery experience

Beyond responsible public health measures to drive grocery decision-making, consumers also base shopping decisions on a factor that hasn’t been changed by the pandemic: shopping rewards. Nearly 30% of global consumers say they would always choose a grocery retailer where loyalty points or discounts on purchases are available, versus other options. Nearly 9 in 10 consumers (88%) say that they would sometimes, frequently, or always choose grocery retailers where these types of rewards are available, with just 11% saying that rewards and discounts rarely or never affect their choice of the grocery retailer.

Private label brand discovery

Of consumers that explored new private label brands, more than half (61%) plan to stick with the new brands or include them in a mix of new finds and old favorites as they shop in the future. And of those that purchased products at new grocery stores, 53% plan to continue shopping at the new locations in addition to their prior preferred stores.

Consumers in UAE (93%) and China (90%) were the most adventurous in trying new private brands, while Germany (63%) and France (67%) were less reluctant to explore them. Many consumers unable to find what they needed in the store turned to online storefronts and new brands to meet their grocery needs. In fact, nearly half of consumers (45%) discovered new brands online and will continue to shop for those brands moving forward, with 16% anticipating choosing the new brands over their former preferred brand.

Looking ahead

Agility and adaptability are critical to the health of grocery businesses. Consumers have new expectations of retailers that go beyond the availability of products and the usual quality of in-store and online experiences. Grocery retailers will be challenged to maintain the quality and consistency of shopping experiences, no matter where they occur.

See more on how consumer habits have shifted