Aug U.S. eGrocery sales down 1% versus year ago to $8.5 billion

Top Line

Total U.S. online grocery sales slipped by less than 1% versus last year to $8.5 billion in August according to the Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey fielded Aug 29-30, 2022 . Despite this small year-over-year dip, ongoing shopper research conducted by Brick Meets Click over the last four years shows how eGrocery sales have remained at significantly elevated levels following the dramatic surge experienced at the onset of the pandemic.

“The COVID pandemic motivated trial of Delivery and Pickup services at a scale that no one could have predicted,” said David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click. “And, as the pandemic evolves, it’s increasingly clear that many households find online grocery shopping an acceptable option to complement their new in-store shopping behaviors.”

Key Findings: Aug 2022 vs. prior periods

Total user base

During August 2022, over 68 million households went online to buy at least one grocery order via Delivery, Pickup, or Ship-to-Home.

• Although the total base of monthly active users (MAUs) for August 2022 is down by just over 1% versus 2021, it’s still up 23% from 2020 and 116% compared to 2019.

Demand for Pickup and Delivery

As the base of MAUs has grown, the demand for specific receiving methods has continued to shift from pre-COVID behaviors.

• The share of MAUs engaged with Ship-to-Home dropped from 58% in 2019 to 44% in 2022.
• Over the same time period, Delivery’s share of MAUs climbed from 25% to 44%, and Pickup expanded from 32% to 54%.

Order frequency

The rate of order frequency among MAUs also shows that online grocery shopping has become a more frequent occurrence in shoppers’ lives, although the year-over-year trends are varied.

• Between August 2019 and August 2020, the average number of orders received by a MAU jumped by 40%, from 2.0 to 2.8.
• Since then, it has gradually declined to 2.7 in August 2021 and 2.6 in August 2022.

“This downward trend in order frequency is largely the result of a growing MAU base that is still influenced to some degree by concerns about catching the virus,” explained Bishop.

Weekly grocery spending

Weekly grocery spending for August 2022 does show signs of inflationary pressures versus the prior year; however, that’s in part due to where customers are shopping as well as the size of the average order.

Overall grocery spending in August was up 14% compared to a year ago as households reported spending just over $200 during the most recent 7-day period.

• For the month, both the Mass and Dollar formats reported larger user bases while Grocery remained relatively flat.
• At the same time, the composite average order value (AOV) for the Delivery and Pickup segments climbed 10% versus the prior year to $87 during August, while Ship-to-Home’s AOV plummeted 20% to $40 during the same period.

Repeat intent

The likelihood that an online grocery shopper will use the same serviceagain within the next month remained very stable for 2022, finishing at 63% for August.

• This is three points higher compared to 2021, although it still trails both 2019 and 2020 by almost 10 points.
• And, while the overall year-over-year view is positive, Grocery continued to lag Mass on this metric by nearly 10 points for the month.

Cross-shopping between Grocery and Mass

Cross-shopping between Grocery and Mass held steady at 29%for August as 3 in 10 customers who placed at least one online order with Groceryduring the past 30 days also placed an order with a Mass retailer.

• This is 3 points higher than 2021, and 11 and 14 points higher compared to 2020 and 2019 respectively

Sponsor Message & Appreciation

“The strategies that Mass retailers use are difficult for most Grocery retailers to imitate for various reasons,” said Sylvain Perrier, president and CEO, Mercatus. “Price inflation plays to their competitive advantage, but only up to a point as online shopping still is about convenience. Conventional grocers should emphasize the cost savings and convenience of their pickup services. At the same time, consider implementing a variable service fee structure that offers customers more control over the extra costs and grocers better ways to lower costs through operational efficiencies.”

We thank the team at Mercatus for their continued generous support of this research. Click here to see the September 13, 2022 press release.

About this Consumer Research

The Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey is an ongoing independent research initiative created and conducted by Brick Meets Click and sponsored by Mercatus.

Brick Meets Click conducted the survey on August 29-30, 2022, with 1,755 adults, 18 years and older, who participated in the household’s grocery shopping. This research is scheduled to run monthly through 2022; then the cadence will be reevaluated to best suit the industry’s needs.The three receiving methods for online grocery orders are defined as follows:

• Ship-to-Home includes orders that are received via common or contract carriers like FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc.
• Delivery includes orders received from a first- or third-party provider like Instacart, Shipt or the retailer's own employees.
• Pickup (aka curbside) includes orders that are received by customers either inside or outside a store or at a designated location/locker.

Results were adjusted based on internet usage among U.S. adults to account for the non-response bias associated with online surveys. Responses are geographically representative of the U.S. and weighted by age to reflect the national population of adults, 18 years and older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Brick Meets Click used a similar methodology for each of the prior surveys conducted in 2022 - July 29-30 (n- 1690), June 29-30 (n=1,743), May 28-29 (n=1,802), Apr. 28-29 (n= 1,746), Mar. 28-29 (n= 1,681), Feb. 26-27 (n=1,790),and Jan. 29-30 (n=1,793); in 2021 – Dec. 29-30 (n = 1,836), Nov. 29-30 (n=1,785), Oct. 29-30 (n=1,751), Sept. 28-29 (n=1,728), Aug. 29-30 (n=1,806), July 29-30 (n=1,892), June 27-28 (n=1,789), May 28-30 (n=1,872), Apr. 26-28 (n=1,941), Mar. 26-28 (n=1,811), Feb. 26-28 (n= 1,812), and Jan. 28-31 (n=1,776); in 2020 – Nov. 11-14 (n=2,067), Aug. 24-26 (n=1,817), Jun. 24-25 (n=1,781), May 20-22 (n=1,724), Apr. 22-24 (n= 1,651), and Mar. 23-25 (n=1,601); and in 2019 – Aug. 22-24 (n = 2,485).