Amazon and Walmart bested by Texas grocer H-E-B as the top online grocer
eCommerce grocery retail researcher — yes, that’s real — Dunnhumby released its first-ever eCommerce grocery experience rankings this week. And it wasn’t Walmart or Amazon at the top of the eCommerce Retailer Preference Index (RPI) list.
Instead, San Antonio-based H-E-B topped the two eCommerce retail giants from a survey of over 3,000 U.S. households who had shopped online for groceries in the past 30 days. The study stated that H-E-B had “the best emotional connection and online share of wallet, among their customer base, out of all of the retailers in this study.”
The key aspects that drove H-E-B to the top were the intuitiveness and ease of use for their curbside/delivery website and application. The company launched its application just before the COVID-19 lockdowns began, and its digital investment paid dividends over the past two years.
For transparency, it’s important to note that the results were very close, with H-E-B besting Amazon and Walmart by only fractions of a percentage the study called a “near statistical tie.” However, H-E-B was said to beat second-place finisher Amazon in both the ease and reliability and substitutes categories — two categories that weigh heavily in Dunnhumby’s ranking system.
Here’s a list of the top five eCommerce grocery retailers according to the study:
- H-E-B
- Amazon
- Amazon Fresh
- Walmart
- Sam’s Club
Nike Digital drives up largest revenue numbers ever for the company
Nike released positive news this week, coinciding with the company’s 50th anniversary. According to its Q4 financial release, the footwear and apparel company saw its revenue jump 6% to $46.7 billion, even with supply chain issues.
This jump was due in part to the increase of its digital share which grew to 24% of the company’s total $10 billion in brand revenue. Nike CEO John Donahue stated on the earnings call, “Within our Nike-owned stores, higher levels of connectivity across physical and digital are simply driving a better consumer experience. Online to offline services, such as buy online, pick up in-store, and ship from the store are driving growth with 100% of our North America stores now offering at least one element of O2O.”
He went on to speak about how their customers are solely focused on purchasing items online for either delivery, curbside, or in-store pickup. And the company is working hard to create an experience in these channels that’s both consistent and seamless.
We’ll check back on future numbers releases to see if the company’s digital share continues to increase.
It looks like eBay is joining Walmart in further digging into the world of NFTs and the metaverse. The eCommerce auction site recently filed two trademark applications that cover a variety of services and products related to both spaces.
The filings show that the company has plans to create a virtual goods marketplace and potentially other online retail stores that sell both virtual goods and actual items. These online retail stores include NFT trading and an NFT exchange.
Besides this news, the company also acquired the NFT marketplace Knownorigin a day before the filing. It makes sense as the company started allowing NFT sales back in May.
Where they’ll go with the metaverse remains to be seen. But their NFT filings show eBay will aim to use a combination of both spaces to generate more revenue for the company.
Furniture retailer CORT uses augmented-reality and 3D to boost conversions
The pandemic was a difficult time for furniture retailers. But many in the industry used it as an opportunity to adapt their sales funnels and polish their eCommerce platform.
For CORT, that strategy has definitely paid off. But the company took things to the next level in January by adding both 3D imaging and augmented reality (AR) to their platform. By February, the company saw a conversion rate increase of 111%. And through May, that number increased to 117%.
The company used the Vertebrae platform to integrate the two technologies on their site. Regarding the numbers jump, Vertebrae CEO Vince Cacace stated, “Being able to see these products in their space at the right size and scale, and examine details of the textures and fabrics, creates buyer confidence.”
Based in the Netherlands, online beauty retailer JohnBeerens.com will now offer its products in both Germany and France. If you’re not familiar, the company offers a wide range of live streams that showcase live shopping events with stylists and assistants answering customer questions in real-time.
With these new markets in place, the company plans to expand even more by offering its own line of products along with a customer loyalty program. The company also plans to partner with a variety of celebrities on their live shows to drive sales even further.
Deliveroo launches UK Ad and eCommerce platform
UK brands will have more opportunities to advertise their business online through Deliveroo. The company launched its new Deliveroo Media and Ecommerce program to boost restaurants and companies in the fast-moving consumer goods sectors.
The company hasn’t worked so much in this sector as most of its revenue comes from commissions on its delivery. But they want to tap into this ad market to generate more attention for their brands and draw in additional businesses who stand to increase revenue from effective advertising on their platform.
The program is only available in the UK for now, but the company says it intends to expand it into other markets soon.
Puratos acquires French eCommerce startup Rapidle
International bakery, patisserie, and chocolatier company Puratos is ramping up its eCommerce presence. The company announced its acquisition of Rapidle this week, a French startup that works to provide personalized eCommerce solutions.
The company stated it will merge Rapidle with Bakeronline to expand the number of French artisan bakeries that offer products online. Bakeronline offers digital transformation services to bakers, and Puratos acquired the company 4 years ago.
With France already globally renowned for its wide range of boulangeries, it looks like there will be even more bread available in the country.
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