“The report sheds light on the fundamental shift of consumer patterns that followed the crest of COVID-19, implying an increase in daily e-grocery purchases by an astounding 113%. For businesses in different sectors to adjust quickly and respond to the growing demand for delivery and safety, they rapidly employ curbside pickups to ensure uninterrupted operations and meet the ever-changing needs of consumers. This strategic shift proves the industry’s strength and possibility of growth even in unpredictable environments. Major US grocers like Walmart, Target, and Publix are the leading players, making curbside pickup available everywhere. An in-depth data analysis showed that Walmart had 5200 stores with pickup options. Target and Publix are close to Walmart. This rapidly evolving data landscape implies that grocery data scraping is the most significant of these factors that informs strategic decisions, optimizes operations, and improves consumer experience in this highly dynamic environment of supermarkets” (Food Data Scrape, 2024).
Data drives the understanding and development of markets throughout different industries and markets. This article utilizes data from various large grocery retailers throughout the United States to better understand the market surrounding curbside pickup. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, daily use of these services has multiplied by 113%, rapidly changing consumer habits and their standards when it comes to these services (Food Data Scrape, 2024).
Shifts in consumer habits of this caliber are vital to understand, as they indicate a larger shift in consumer priorities and desires post-pandemic. Now that curbside offerings are ubiquitous this allows customers to spend less time in store and more time doing activities. If shoppers are utilizing curbside pickup more abundantly than ever, it has potential to impact the features that these same consumers look for in their vehicle purchases.
A key part of curbside pickup is typically that workers will put your groceries into your car for you, but perhaps to some consumers this feels invasive or they want to ensure that fragile items such as bread and eggs won’t be crushed if placed into the vehicle the wrong way. The frunk space of an electric car offers customers a space that is separate from the rest of the vehicle and has potential for a multitude of organization tools to keep groceries secure and possibly climate-controlled in transit.
References
Food Data Scrape. (2024). Analyzing Curbside Pickup Trends in US Grocery Chains through Grocery Data Scraping. Medium. https://medium.com/@Fooddatascrape1/analyzing-curbside-pickup-trends-in-us-grocery-chains-through-grocery-data-scraping-6d1c4d187cd4
Perez, S. (2015). Same-Day Shopping App Curbside Picks Up $25 Million More [Photograph]. TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/
