Report rates buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS), curbside and delivery offerings of major U.S. food retailers.

NEW YORK — Demand for contactless commerce is surging during the coronavirus pandemic, and so is the intensity of competition among retailers promoting their delivery services and pickup options to meet the demand.

But which grocery brands are rising to the challenge? Survey results out this month from Ipsos measure and rank major U.S. food retailers in terms of the how customers experience their e-commerce services.

Ipsos’s “E-commerce Experience Report” finds that H-E-B, Whole Foods and Aldi perform best in grocery delivery. The best in-store and curbside pickup services are offered by Target, Kroger, Sam’s Club and Walmart.

“Use of BOPIS [buy-online-pickup-in-store] and curbside pickup has increased for 78% of shoppers since COVID-19 began, and 69% expect to continue using it at the same or higher levels after the pandemic subsides,” Carlos Aragon, vice president of U.S. channel performance at Ipsos, said in releasing the report on October 9. “As we continue to see the adoption and usage of these new digital offers rise and continue to stick, it is important that brands have the mechanism to ensure they deliver a seamless and safe customer experience for these new users.”

Among the report’s key findings:

• Best-performing grocery brands in terms of delivery have accuracy rates of 95% or higher. San Antonio, Texas-based H-E-B was first in grocery delivery, with an accuracy rate on orders of 99%. Amazon’s Whole Foods Market has a 95% accuracy rate, as does Aldi.
• Walmart is the top grocery brand in BOPIS, which excelled at posting visible signage directing consumers to the grocery pickup area in 86% of locations audited. Target performed exceptionally well against the categories surveyed and had grocery orders ready when promised at 98% of visited locations.
• Top grocery brands in curbside pickup were Sam’s Club — which scored well across the board and was singled out in the report for providing designated curbside parking at 100% of locations audited – and Kroger, which had orders ready when promised at 97% of locations.

“As e-commerce offerings expand, brands must continue taking steps to ensure consumers have a positive end-to-end experience,” according to Ipsos. “While several retailers have started shifting to meet consumer demand, there is still a tremendous growth opportunity for all brands offering BOPIS, curbside, and delivery. Across the board, customers look for clear communication, but more than a quarter of all pickup and delivery shoppers say there is room for improvement with communication.”