More Grocery Shoppers Are Hitting the Delivery Button

(Image credit : Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopper Survey, June 2024)

Digital grocery shoppers were seemingly looking for convenience last month, with fresh data from Brick Meets Click and Mercatus showing higher delivery sales. According to the companies’ latest grocery shopper survey, delivery sales spiked 18% in June compared to the previous year, ringing up $2.9 billion on sales.

The increase stemmed in part from a larger monthly active user base and higher order activities. For the month, delivery comprised 38% of e-grocery sales.

The other pieces of the e-commerce pie went to the pickup mode, at 45%, and the ship-to-home model, close to 17%, per the survey fielded in late June. Pickup sales reached $3.5 billion for the month and ship-to-home sales edged up 4% on a year-over-year (YoY) basis to come in at $1.3 billion. Overall, digital grocery sales rose 8% YoY to top $7.7 billion during the first full month of summer.

The data reflects an e-commerce marketplace that is still in flux and subjected to monthly changes in behaviors and retailers' marketing efforts. “Delivery’s strong performance in June likely benefited from the promotional offers made last month, first by Instacart and then by Walmart,” said David Bishop, partner at the Brick Meets Click research and analytics firm. “These promotions focused on delivery and offered deep discounts on each service’s annual membership fees, which helped boost both MAUs and order frequency for delivery and for Walmart.”

In another bright spot for the online channel, some digital users returned to this form of grocery shopping. The Brick Meets Click/Mercatus research shows that the 4% gain in the overall monthly active user base was driven almost entirely by reactivated lapsed users who look to be giving the service another chance.

As for where they are buying groceries online, the latest report shows that nearly a third of consumers purchased items from both grocery and mass stores over the past month, with upticks in mass and declines in traditional supermarkets. "Regional grocers need to stem the tide and regain market share by leveling the playing field against mass merchants, despite these rivals having a price advantage," advised Mark Fairhurst, chief growth officer at the commerce solutions provider Mercatus. "Integrating personalized and targeted promotions into their first-party platform experience will be key to re-engaging lapsed customers and improving repeat purchase rates. Additionally, incorporating high-level, in-store customer service into the digital experience – a strength that regionals are known for – will be crucial and can give them an advantage over their mass competitors."

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