‘A totally new world of retail:’ NIQ unpacks how omnichannel shopping is evolving

“The reality is that it is a totally new world of retail. The traditional models that we have thought about historically — and the way that we have operated forever — are just dissolving into new technologies and into new forms of purchasing the consumers are adopting. So, the ideas of channels are evolving away to be almost focused on consumers exclusively. And the traditional concept of what brands are and the things that matter within brands have evolved significantly as well to be much more about attributes,” Juskowiak said.

Consumers shop at eight different channels on average and through an omnichannel approach of a mix of brick-and-mortar stores and online, according to NIQ Omnishopper data for the 52 weeks ending Jan. 27.​

Most consumers (70.6%) shopped for food through an omnichannel approach, while 29.3% of consumers shop exclusively in-store and 0.1% exclusively online, according to the same NIQ data. Omnichannel shoppers spend 16.1% of their share of wallet online, growing by 1.1 percentage points for the same 52-week period, NIQ reported.

Most consumers (85%) order from a pure-play online retailer for home delivery, and the same amount use a combination of physical store and online options, according to NIQ 2024 consumer outlook data. Additionally, 69% of consumers order delivery from a supermarket or mass merchandise store, and 64% of shoppers order online and pick up at the store — also known as click and collect.