Growth Areas

Where retailers are expecting to see the biggest changes in 2021

Online Grocery: A Retailer’s Best Friend and Biggest Enemy

In 2021, almost a third of retailers (30%) say they expect online grocery to make up more than 10% of sales, up from 18% in 2020. Among all respondents, 22% said they did not offer online grocery in 2020; for 2021, only 14% say they will not be offering online grocery.

While online grocery may be a retailer’s best friend these days, it can also be his biggest enemy. When asked which retail channel would be the biggest threat to their business in 2021, online retail was the No. 1 response, at 43%, followed by direct-to-consumer online channels at 29%. Rounding out the top five were dollar stores (11%), warehouse clubs (10%) and convenience stores (4%).

Health & Wellness

Health & wellness is also an area that retailers will be focusing on and investing in.

Almost two-thirds of retailers surveyed say they plan to bolster their better-for-you positioning in 2021 in a variety of ways, most significantly by growing/updating assortment (68%) and offering new products (64%), including plant-based, CBD, etc.

Beyond Business

after a year in which COVID-19, economic distress, racial strife and the environment created a perfect storm of challenges and propelled individuals and companies to take stands, most retailers say that social initiatives will be important to their company in 2021.

Among the most important are diversity in the workforce (57%), supporting local businesses/suppliers (56%), sustainability (55%), reducing food waste (45%), racial equity and justice (42%) and fighting hunger (35%).

As one retailer told us, "the goal is doing good work every day.”