Retail and e-commerce - May 2022

Developments in retail
According to Kantar, online grocery/FMCG sales grew more than 15% in 2021, in a global grocery market which grew 2.1%. The total market growth of 2.1% is in line with the average pre-pandemic growth, and means the market held on to the double-digit growth gains it made in the 2020 phase of the pandemic. Supermarkets/hypermarkets remain the dominant channel for FMCG sales, however with growth of just 0.1% its share of sales fell to 51.4%, from 52.4% in 2020 and 53.1% in 2019. You can read the report online.
Saddle Creek has published their 2022 Ecommerce Fulfillment Trends Report (1.1 MB). According to their survey e-commerce is now the preferred method of shopping for 68% of consumers, up from 52% in 2020, and e-commerce sales will represent 20% of total retail sales by 2024. Over half of respondents (57%) utilise a third-party provider for some or all of their e-commerce fulfillment, and another 20% plan to begin outsourcing in the next 12 to 18 months.

Tamper-evident packaging
Georgia Southern University researchers have published a paper (190 kB) in the journal Association of Marketing Theory and Practice entitled; ‘The Unintended Effects of Tamper-Evident Packaging’.
Across two studies, they examined the effect of tamper-evident food packaging closures in a third-party food delivery context, revealing a negative effect of a tamper-evident seal on willingness to pay through decreased satisfaction.

Reusable packaging systems
The Sustainable Packaging Coalition has published a Guidance for Reusable Packaging (10.6 MB), aimed at helping brands and retailers better design and measure effective reusable packaging systems. It outlines key considerations for the success, applicability, and sustainability of reusable packaging systems.

Sustainable shopping habits
Blue Yonder has released its findings from its 2022 Consumer Sustainability Survey in an infographic (2.6 MB) revealing retail consumer preferences related to sustainable shopping habits. The survey found that more than three quarters (86%) of consumers are willing to delay e-commerce deliveries for the sake of improving sustainability if given an incentive to do so. Of those respondents, 29% are willing to delay deliveries up to five days and 28% are willing to delay a week or more.
Smithers and UPM have published a survey under packaging professionals from across the value chain to find out key trends driving the development of sustainable food packaging by 2040. The study assessed the impact of a range of consumer expectations, regulatory development, material choices, to end-of-life options on the future of food packaging. You can download it after filing in your details.

Shopping in the metaverse
According to a new report by Wunderman Thompson Intelligence, 86% of people believe that the retail industry will be impacted by the metaverse. Among those who are familiar with the metaverse, 70% believe it will be a place to shop and 68% say it will be the future of ecommerce and online shopping. You can download the report after filling in your details.
 

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