Retail marketing specialist 84.51° is out with some new research that concludes a new kind of grocery shopper has emerged in the wake of last year’s COVID-19 disruption: the hybrid shopper.

The Kroger subsidiary did the research to help food marketers prep for the 2021 holiday sales season. In addition to its parent it works with 1,400 consumer packaged goods companies.

It’s no secret that last year saw ecommerce soar as lockdowns and safety concerns spurred grocery shoppers to try pick-up and delivery service — many for the first time ever. Now, even as restrictions lift and people grow more comfortable shopping in-store again, the landscape has changed.

In the “new” normal, the research found, food shoppers who tried ecommerce out of necessity in 2020 will continue to use it, occasionally at least, for convenience — particularly during the busy holiday season.

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