Ahold Delhaize, the parent of Giant Food and Stop & Shop chains that operates more than 2,000 stores in the U.S. and abroad, is looking to double its digital gains with major investments in its online platforms. On Monday (Nov. 15), the Zaandam, Netherlands-based global grocery giant announced its intentions to double its net consumer online sales and reach eCommerce profitability by 2025. Additionally, the company shared that it expects 70% online sales growth in 2021 on top of 105% growth in 2020 and that, across brands, Ahold Delhaize now has over 33 million loyalty members. To reach its eCommerce growth goals, the company is looking to target the evolving needs of today’s “connected customer.”
“Let me describe to you what we mean by a connected customer,” Kevin Holt, CEO of Ahold Delhaize USA, told investors in a presentation. “Now, in some ways, it’s every one of us. Our customers’ lives are constantly in motion. They’re looking for convenient and personalized solutions to save time in their day … Our strategy is built on providing relevant omnichannel solutions so our customers can enjoy the moments that matter in their lives.”
Findings from PYMNTS’ study “The Bring-It-to-Me Economy: How Online Marketplaces and Aggregators Drive Omnichannel Commerce,” created in collaboration with Carat from Fiserv, which surveyed over 5,200 U.S. consumers about how their shopping habits have changed since the start of the pandemic, showed that 46% of consumers are purchasing groceries online more often than prior to March 2020, and that portion jumps up to around two-thirds for Gen Z-ers, millennials and bridge millennials.
See also: Bring-It-to-Me Economy Ascends as Consumers Embrace Home-Centric Lifestyles
Additionally, according to data from PYMNTS’ study “What Consumers Expect From Their Grocery Shopping Experiences,” created in collaboration with ACI Worldwide, which surveyed more than 2,300 U.S. adults about their grocery purchases, 34% of consumers now buy groceries online. This figure includes 40% of Gen Zers, 57% of millennials and 56% of bridge millennials. However, only 18% of consumers rank the channel as their most preferred, while the remaining 82% prefer shopping in stores.
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Ahold Delhaize also shared its intentions in the Benelux region to leverage its cross-brand loyalty base to boost each program.
“In the Netherlands, we have more than five million [customers] who shop at Albert Heijin and Bol.com and one million at Delhaize and Bol.com,” Wouter Kolk, CEO of Ahold Delhaize Europe and Indonesia, told investors. “Besides the obvious cross shopping opportunities, there is also a potential to create more unique and interesting loyalty-building occasions.”
He cited the example of offering linked accounts that work across brands, making it easier to purchase across chains. “A very important element of convenience is payments, whether it be shared payment options or a joint checkout,” Kolk said.
In fact, PYMNTS’ ACI study found that consumers are indeed looking for quick and easy payment options. Responses showed that 31% of online grocery shoppers use PayPal, while 22% use other mobile wallets, such as Apple Pay or Google Pay.
Additionally, Ahold Delhaize announced that it is exploring the potential for a subsidiary initial public offering (IPO) of its Bol.com first- and third-party online marketplace to bring in funds to support the parent company’s ambitious innovation pipeline.
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