Online Grocery Sales Spike Again
If mid-March 2020 was a turning point for the online grocery sector, data from the five-year mark shows that the trajectory has been jagged at times but is still moving up. The latest Brick Meets Click Grocery Shopping Survey reveals that grocery e-comm is up 21% on a year-over-year (YoY) basis, fueled by strength in the delivery side of the business. Sales topped $9.5 billion for the eighth straight month in March.
As with the acceleration catalyst of the pandemic in 2020, the latest gains in online grocery are shaped by often-volatile market trends. Brick Meets Click attributed the increases in e-grocery sales last month to deep discounts on memberships and subscriptions and aggressive promotions in light of ongoing consumer concerns about value and convenience.
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An expansion of the monthly active user base for delivery helped propel delivery to a 30% leap in sales. Delivery now accounts for 43% of the e-grocery market, per the report.
“Delivery’s remarkable year-over-year rebound highlights the potency of promotional strategies that help customers save more money,” observed David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click. “And, memberships/subscriptions are becoming essential for retaining customers and driving more recurring revenue via gains in order frequency and average order values.”
The firm also provided some context for e-grocery at the anniversary of the COVID lockdowns. According to Brick Meets Click research, monthly e-grocery sales reached $2 billion in August 2019, surged to $6.5 billion in March 2020 and peaked in early 2021. The channel rebalanced through last year and started to expand again when grocers and delivery services started offering more value-based offers.
Mark Fairhurst, chief growth marketing officer at Mercatus, noted that consumers have gotten savvier about buying groceries online, using multiple methods of fulfillment and being more active online. “Customer expectations around online grocery have only increased since COVID-19 pushed many to give it a try,” Fairhurst said. “Retailers that elevate the experience with relevant offers and meaningful rewards won’t just meet shoppers’ evolving needs—they’ll build stronger connections that fuel long-term growth,” he added. Mercatus sponsors the monthly Grocery Shopping Survey.
Mercatus will share additional insights at Progressive Grocer’s upcoming GroceryTech event in Dallas. On June 11, Randy Crimmins and Lee Lambeth of Mercatus will lead a session, “Turn Data Into Dollars: How Data Intelligence Is Reshaping Grocery.”
