In this modern world, it seems that every task we perform gets re-engineered in the pursuit of automation and efficiency. The chore of grocery shopping has evolved from a leisurely browsing experience into a race against time. On average, consumers spend 10 seconds shopping a category before making a purchase decision.

Then, along came COVID, and suddenly, almost overnight, roaming aisles in a store became associated with fear and risk. In response, consumers have resorted to fewer and even faster shopping trips. We’ve witnessed the accelerated adoption of online shopping, Instacart, subscription programs, and out-of-store pickup.

Odds of discovery and purchase have swung in favor of familiar brands with more facings and deeper pockets. No matter how long you expect COVID’s tremors to persist, we can reasonably expect that in-store shopping behaviors will only become more accelerated and pre-programmed in correlation to our increasingly hurried lives.