of Australia’s grocery shoppers changed the way they shop during the pandemic, with half (50 per cent) having made their very first online grocery purchase less than a year ago.  Cartology head of marketing and insights Jodie Koning told Inside Retail the hybrid shopping model is being embraced by a growing number of Australians. “Customers’ digital literacy has grown exponentially. They’ve got different and higher expectations than they’ve ever had. They will choose as and when they want to shop, and I think the role for brands is to meet these customers, where, when and how they want to shop,” Koning said.  The unprecedented surge in online shopping throughout the pandemic, which saw Woolworths report online sales growth of 53 per cent in the September quarter, has been balanced out by a renewed appreciation for the in-store experience. The report found that 89 per cent of sales are still being made in store, and that for 74 per cent of shoppers, it’s the preferred way to do the groceries.  “People were talking so passionately about going to store; that really surprised me. Women, men, [all] age groups were talking about the sensory experience in store, the connection they get in store, the fact that they want to pick up their fruit and smell and touch it,” Koning said.  “A lot of brands are talking about e-commerce, and they are right to, but you wouldn’t want to forget the whole in-store experience, and how they impact each other both functionally and emotionally.” What customers say vs what they do  By combining the insights with Woolworths’ first party data, Cartology was able to find a correlation between what customers said, and what they did, and use the results to guide marketers. Koning said the changes in shopping behaviour will see customer centricity being a key influencer in FMCG product marketing.  “It’s critical for marketers to go deep to really understand customers and their changed shopping habits,” she said.  “The shopping journey is no longer linear, but circuitous, with multiple touchpoints – from apps to in-store demonstrations. Customers expect brands to be visible across the evolved omnichannel path to purchase in new and unexpected ways.” Koning said that grocery shoppers are doing their research online prior to making purchases and pointed to ROBIS (research online, buy in store) as an important pattern in customer behaviour. At Woolworths, customers opting to ROBIS is growing significantly; from 40 per cent of customers two and a half years ago to 61 per cent today.  “I find it interesting because [grocery purchases] are not big, impactful decisions, but people are genuinely leaning in. They want to know more. They want to make good choices. They want more inspiration and discovery. And that’s why we’re seeing such growth in numbers,” Koning said.  She believes successful e-commerce marketing needs to translate the best of instore to online. “You can’t pull the two apart anymore,” she said.