Drivers of Consumer Usage Intention Toward Online Grocery Services in Germany: A Quantitative Analysis of Convenience, Trust, Delivery Quality, and Price
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51137/wrp.ijrcr.1076Keywords:
Online Grocery Shopping, Behavioural Intention, Consumer Behaviour, Usage Intention, GermanyAbstract
Online grocery retailing is among the fastest-growing parts of German e-commerce. Yet it still accounts for only a small share of grocery spending, and most consumers remain non-users. Operational reach alone has not secured adoption. The consumer-side drivers of usage intention in Germany therefore remain insufficiently quantified. This study examines how five drivers shape the intention to use online grocery services: delivery quality, trust, convenience, price fairness, and price level. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 190 consumers in Germany. All constructs were measured on five-point Likert scales. The data were analysed in Jamovi using multiple linear regression. Supplementary analyses comprised a t-test, a one-way ANOVA, a Spearman correlation, and an exploratory content analysis of open-ended comments. The model explained 43.8 % of the variance in usage intention. Convenience and price fairness were the only statistically independent predictors. Delivery quality, trust, and price level correlated with intention but added no unique effect. Prior usage experience produced the largest group difference. Age was negatively related, and employment status had no effect. Notably, convenience was the strongest predictor yet was rated the least important criterion by respondents. For providers, the findings point to two priorities: effortless ordering and transparent, fair pricing. Lowering the barrier to a first trial is key to converting non-users.
References
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organisational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T
Arnold, M. J., & Reynolds, K. E. (2003). Hedonic shopping motivations. Journal of Retailing, 79(2), 77–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4359(03)00007-1
Berry, L. L., Seiders, K., & Grewal, D. (2002). Understanding service convenience. Journal of Marketing, 66(3), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.66.3.1.18505
Brüggemann, P., Martinez, L. F., & Pauwels, K. (2025). Theoretical perspectives and conceptual framework for online grocery shopping: Adapting to environmental circumstances and influencing internal factors. Electronic Commerce Research, 25(3), 2271–2307. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10660-025-09960-8
Bundesverband E-Commerce und Versandhandel Deutschland (bevh). (2026, January 22). Wachstum im E-Commerce: Lichtblick in der deutschen Wirtschaft [Growth in e-commerce: A bright spot in the German economy; Press release]. https://bevh.org/detail/wachstum-im-e-commerce-lichtblick-in-der-deutschen-wirtschaft
Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3), 319–340. https://doi.org/10.2307/249008
EHI Retail Institute. (2026). E-Food: Online-Umsatz mit Lebensmitteln in Deutschland — Zeitreihe [E-food: Online revenue from groceries in Germany — time series; Data set]. handelsdaten.de. https://www.handelsdaten.de/lebensmittelhandel/e-food-online-umsatz-mit-lebensmitteln-deutschland-zeitreihe
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Addison-Wesley.
Hand, C., Riley, F. D., Harris, P., Singh, J., & Rettie, R. (2009). Online grocery shopping: The influence of situational factors. European Journal of Marketing, 43(9/10), 1205–1219. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090560910976447
Limayem, M., Hirt, S. G., & Cheung, C. M. K. (2007). How habit limits the predictive power of intentions: The case of IS continuance. MIS Quarterly, 31(4), 705–737. https://doi.org/10.2307/25148817
Lo, H.-C., Chang, W.-J., & Chen, I.-H. (2025). From purchase to return: How personalized e-commerce recommendations shape consumer behavior. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 88, Article 104459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104459
Mayring, P. (2015). Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse: Grundlagen und Techniken [Qualitative content analysis: Foundations and techniques] (12th ed.). Beltz.
McKnight, D. H., & Chervany, N. L. (2002). What trust means in e-commerce customer relationships: An interdisciplinary conceptual typology. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 6(2), 35–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/10864415.2001.11044235
Mortimer, G., Fazal e Hasan, S., Andrews, L., & Martin, J. (2016). Online grocery shopping: The impact of shopping frequency on perceived risk. The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 26(2), 202–223. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593969.2015.1130737
Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Malhotra, A. (2005). E-S-QUAL: A multiple-item scale for assessing electronic service quality. Journal of Service Research, 7(3), 213–233. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670504271156
PwC Deutschland & Strategy&. (2025, April 11). Lebensmittel per Klick: Jeder sechste Euro landet im Online-Einkaufswagen [Groceries by click: Every sixth euro ends up in the online shopping cart; Press release]. PricewaterhouseCoopers. https://www.pwc.de/de/pressemitteilungen/2025/lebensmittel-per-klick-jeder-sechste-euro-landet-im-online-einkaufswagen.html
ResearchAndMarkets. (2026, April 20). Germany quick commerce databook report 2026 [Report]. GlobeNewswire. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/04/20/3277264/28124/en/Germany-Quick-Commerce-Databook-Report-2026.html
Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). Free Press.
Statista Market Insights. (2025). Lebensmittel — Deutschland: Marktprognose [Groceries — Germany: Market forecast; Data set]. Statista. https://de.statista.com/outlook/cmo/lebensmittel/deutschland
Trivedi, S. K., & Yadav, M. (2020). Repurchase intentions in Y generation: Mediation of trust and e-satisfaction. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 38(4), 401–415. https://doi.org/10.1108/MIP-02-2019-0072
Van Droogenbroeck, E., & Van Hove, L. (2021). Adoption and usage of e-grocery shopping: A context-specific UTAUT2 model. Sustainability, 13(8), Article 4144. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084144
Venkatesh, V., Morris, M. G., Davis, G. B., & Davis, F. D. (2003). User acceptance of information technology: Toward a unified view. MIS Quarterly, 27(3), 425–478. https://doi.org/10.2307/30036540
Xia, L., Monroe, K. B., & Cox, J. L. (2004). The price is unfair! A conceptual framework of price fairness perceptions. Journal of Marketing, 68(4), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.68.4.1.42733
Zeithaml, V. A. (1988). Consumer perceptions of price, quality, and value: A means-end model and synthesis of evidence. Journal of Marketing, 52(3), 2–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224298805200302
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Finn B. Carstensen, Lasse Heimböckel, Jonathan Häffner, Lars J. Mau, Oke Zarmstorff (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.