IN SUMMARY: Some 36.8% of US consumers bought groceries online in the past year, up from 23.1% in 2018’s survey. This estimates to almost 35 million more consumers buying groceries online between 2018 and 2019.
More people are buying groceries online but shoppers typically buy relatively little of their overall needs online. Fully 72.4% buy only a small proportion of their groceries online, while 11.8% buy a lot of their groceries online. Data suggest new online shoppers could be diluting the portion of grocery shopping; the average shopper does online.
Fully 62.5% of all people who bought groceries online in the past year bought them on Amazon.com, keeping Amazon in
Amazon shoppers typically spend less of their grocery budget online than do shoppers using Walmart.com, Target.com or Kroger.com — suggesting Amazon grocery shoppers tend to be occasional or small-basket online shoppers.
The portion of people buying groceries online who bought from Walmart jumped from 25.5% in 2018 to 37.4% in 2019. Target.com also grew shopper numbers substantially: Some 15.7% of online grocery shoppers bought from Target.com in the past year, versus just 6.9% in 2018.
What’s it mean?
1ne: Consumers are buying more items online that really don’t need to be purchased at a grocery store like beverages and packaged goods.
2wo: Consumers will still flock to the grocery store for perishables like meat and fruit.
3hree: Expect the trend of buying non-perishable packaged goods online to continue.
4our: Grocery chains are trying to compete with at home delivery services but Amazon has a huge lead.
5ive: One area where grocers are experimenting is “meals to go”. Publix, for example, promotes shoppers to order deli items online, customized, and pick them up on when they want.
6ix: Free, next day delivery is becoming the norm for online services.
In the end, it’s all about convenience. Easier to order an eight pack of Gatorade online than drag it home.
