Food e-commerce: the Drive and the "Pedestrian Drive" boost retail chains

If e-commerce in France is doing well according to the Federation of e-commerce and distance selling (FEVAD), with an increase of 11.9% in the first quarter of 2019, the online purchase of fast-moving consumer goods (so-called "FMCG") pushes this dynamic. According to the polling institute Nielsen (international company measurement & data analysis), France is also one of the world leaders with 7.1% of FMCG ordered online¹, behind China and the United States. Although the retail market was first challenged by Amazon, its main players quickly innovated on the territory.

The Drive: a real challenge for growth for retailers

Today, we know the success of the Drive according to the Nielsen Institute, with ongoing development and almost + 7% growth in terms of volume of business in Q1 2019. Offering Drive service is particularly challenging as it requires adapted payment journey. Dalenys is already supporting Leader Price in its omni-channel payment strategy, helping the offline business to perform on this new sales channel. Nielsen also reveals that 69% of Drive services have an average yearly growth of 2%¹. Each opening of Drive represents then a major opportunity to increase turnover.

Drive offering: market leader and consumers profile

Leclerc dominates the actual market with 41% of French market shares for Drive¹ according to the Nielsen Institute. However, Leclerc’s Drive service was recently renewed to meet new customers’ habits. Well established on the "traditional" Drive, Leclerc is now focusing on another target. While traditional Drive consumers are identified as families with children in urban areas (which account for 75% of purchases in Drive in 2019¹), new openings occur in large cities, with local shops, to satisfy couples without children and reinvent their buying experience. This project eventually aims at unifying the customer paths for this typology of Internet users through omni-channel sales solutions. Such projects are addressed on a daily basis by the experts from Dalenys at Brioche Dorée or Pizza del Arte for example.

The "pedestrian" Drive targets big cities

Two types of projects are currently deployed by the supermarkets, are with new Drive stores in urban areas and new "pedestrian Drive" outlets in certain city centers. Still considered as pilots, thise service is well received by customers and could lead to redefining the chains ranking: Leclerc stores are first on the Drive (with 41% market share¹) while Carrefour City leads the "Pedestrian Drive"(42% of existing offer¹).

Launch of Drive services after 1 year¹:

• 74% of drives in a store with an area of less than 10 000 ft²
• 70% in urban areas
• 16% of drive services are located in the 10 largest cities in France
• N°1 Drive is Leclerc (41% market share).

The "Pedestrian Drive" in May 2019¹:

• 76 “Pedestrian Drives” inside an existing store
• 28 “Pedestrian Drives” on dedicated sites
• 98% in urban areas
• N°1 of the "Pedestrian Drive" is Carrefour City (42% of the park).

¹Sources from the Nielsen TradeDimensions Survey Institute - May 2018 to May 2019.

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