A representative sample of 163 influencers working with large & medium-sized online supermarket and grocery store brands on Instagram was analyzed for this study. To represent how influencer marketing varies within the supermarket and grocery store sector, we have analyzed influencer partnerships with 20 brands spanning large and medium-sized consumer goods brands. 

This report is powered by Upfluence.

Introduction to the Online Supermarket and Grocery Store Sector

In 2019, buying in-store was still outweighing eCommerce grocery purchases as only 6.3% of total grocery-related spending happened online. However, the online grocery industry is fast-growing, with sales expected to reach $59.5 billion by 2023. We have already seen growth and changes in the sector during the first quarter of 2020 due to the global coronavirus pandemic. Acosta reported that in the period between March 10th and April 7th, shoppers had increased their online grocery orders by 51%. 

We have analyzed how brands engaged with influencer marketing, evaluating how the bigger more established brands adapted compared to medium sized brands selling consumer packaged goods online.

Online Supermarket & Grocery Store Brands Instagram Footprint

Supermarkets and online grocery stores have been embracing Instagram to reach their target audiences, and have been cultivating it as a marketing channel thanks to influencer collaborations. Some brands have already generated a large following, Walmart has 2.3M followers and WholeFoods has 3.2M, showing they are keenly aware of the platform’s potential for turning engagement into conversions. 

To make the most of their presence on Instagram, online grocery store brands are turning to influencer partnerships. Influencers report a higher rate of engagement on their posts than brand accounts. The average engagement rate found for big brand accounts is 0.5%, whereas the average influencer working with bigger grocery brands has a rate of 1.2%. This highlights the main draw of working with influencers, whose naturally engaged audience will be receptive to pertinent brand collaborations. 

grocery brand logos 2

Average number of followers

This graph shows the average number of followers the influencers in our dataset have, and their industry size affiliation. 

Engagement rate

Influencers working with medium sized grocery brands have a higher engagement rate than those working with bigger brands.

Audience by country

Audience breakdown by top 5 countries for influencers who have worked on marketing campaigns or brand mentions with the following large brands; Walmart, Kroger and Target, and the following medium brands; Foodspring, Bob’s Red Mill, and Real Good Foods.

22% of audience from other countries.

16% of audience from other countries.

35% of audience from other countries.

34% of audience from other countries.

30% of audience from other countries.

23% of audience from other countries.

Audience by gender

Both groups of large scale brands and medium scale brands have an influencer audience breakdown that is proportionately female.

                                  Big brands

Medium brands

Audience by age

25-34 is the highest represented age range for the followers of grocery influencers working with big and medium brands on Instagram. 

                                Big brands

Medium brands

Number of sponsored posts

How many sponsored posts did influencers publish for our top three big brands and top three medium brands in Q1 2020?

                                    Big brands

Medium brands

Hashtags

We extracted the top 19 hashtags used in influencer campaigns as represented through our selected large and medium scale grocery brands.

Some Grocery Influencers for You

busylittleizzy
@busylittleizzy
  • 69.7K Instagram followers
  • 1.08% engagement rate
  • 95% real
raisingtwinboys
@raisingtwinboys
  • 39K Instagram followers
  • 3.2% engagement rate
  • 95% real
themodernproper
@themodernproper
  • 249K Instagram followers
  • 1.9% engagement rate
  • 97% real
targettherapy
@targettherapy
  • 264K Instagram followers
  • 2.7% engagement rate
  • 95% real
alexafuelednaturally
@alexafuelednaturally
  • 202K Instagram followers
  • 3.5% engagement rate
  • 97% real
nourish deliciously
@nourish_deliciously
  • 47.8K Instagram
  • 1.1% engagement rate
  • 97% real
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