Supermarket turnover assessments: The impact of omnichannel retailing

Abstract

The grocery retail market is undergoing major changes due to a rapidly increasing market share of online groceries (e-groceries). The aim of this paper is divided into two pillars. Firstly, to analyse the effects of e-groceries on turnovers of physical supermarkets. Secondly, to assess the effects of the most common counter-action to the increasing role of e-commerce, namely enhancing “customer experience”. Both trends were quantitatively analysed with panel data. Results suggest that online sales relate positively to sales in physical supermarkets, which indicates that within Dutch omnichannel supermarket retailing, online sales are complementary to offline sales. Customer experience relates positively to supermarket turnovers in general, however, most impact is observed in rural areas. The evidence of further spatial implications remains limited.