May U.S. eGrocery sales down 3.4% versus year ago, finishing at $6.9 billion

The U.S. online grocery market finished May with $6.9 billion in total sales, down 3.4% compared to last year’s $7.2 billion, while Pickup defied the downward trend, capturingits largest sales share to date, according to the latest monthly BrickMeets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey fielded May 30-31, 2023.

The dip in overall sales for May 2023 was driven by a combination of fewer households buying groceries online during the month than last year and a decline in the average number of orders placed by active shoppers.

“Thedecline in order frequency is the result of the growing number of MAUs whoplaced only one eGrocery order during the month. This accounted for one-thirdof all active customers andcaused headwinds across all the segments,” said David Bishop, Partner,Brick Meets Click.

Key Findings: May 2023 YOY

Results were mixed across thethree receiving segments.

• Pickup recorded the only year-over-year growth and capturedits largest share of sales to date, climbing 9.1% and contributing 50.7% oftotal eGrocery sales.
• Ship-to-Home fell 17.0% versus last year and accounted for16.8% of eGrocery sales during the month, continuing to post weaker resultseach year since 2020.
• Delivery declined 11.7% compared to last year, and itsdollar share dropped nearly two points to 32.5% for the month.

Fewer households buying groceries online

The overall base of monthly activeusers (MAUs) for online grocery contracted 5% as all three segments (Ship-to-Home,Delivery, and Pickup) experienced pullbacks in their MAU bases.

In addition, theshare of MAUs who used only one receiving method in May rose nearly 6percentage points to 72%.

Most formats also experienced declines in their MAUbases during May, with Grocery falling nearly 2% and Mass contracting by morethan 5% compared to a year ago, although the Mass MAU base remained more than40% larger than Grocery’s.

Lower order frequency by active shoppers

Along with fewer households buyinggroceries online in May, the average number of orders placed by MAUs fell 5% to2.51 versus May 2022, continuing a downward trend from the record high of 2.91 inMay 2020.

Higher spending per order for Pickup and Delivery

Overall spending per order increased by nearly 8% inMay versus the prior year, largely due to higher prices for grocery products. Lookingat each segment on a year-over-year basis:

• Pickup’s average order value (AOV) climbed almost 13% to$92.
• Delivery AOV edged up 5% to $85.
• Ship-to-Home AOV slipped by a little more than3% to $43.

Comparing formats, the combined AOV for Pickupand Delivery for Grocery grew almost 9%, and Mass increased nearly 14% versus ayear ago.

Repeat intent scores trended down, especially for Grocery

Overall repeat intent ratesdeclined 270 basis points in May versus last year, marking thethird straight month in which customers indicated a lower likelihood of usingthe same Pickup or Delivery service again within the next 30 days compared tothe same periods in 2022.

The downward trend continued due to Grocery’s scores, whichfell by 560 basis points in May, while Mass reversed course and climbed 720basis points compared to the same period a year ago.

Share of total spending

Online’sshare of total grocery spending dropped in May, falling 270 basis points to12.1% versus last year.

Excluding Ship-to-Home, since most conventionalsupermarkets don’t offer it, the adjusted contribution from Pickup and Deliveryfinished at 10.0%, down 190 basis points compared to a year ago, due toDelivery’s weaker performance for the month.

Sponsor Message & Appreciation

"Giventhe decreasing number of online customers and the decline in repeat intentrates, it is imperative for regional grocers to gain a deeper understanding oftheir customers' evolving needs and effectively adapt," stated SylvainPerrier, president and CEO, Mercatus. "As customer expectations continueto rise, it is crucial for grocers to reassess their current service standardsand ensure that the shopping experience aligns closely with these elevatedexpectations."

We thank the team at Mercatus for their continued generous support of this research. Click here to see the June 13, 2023 press release.

About this consumer research

The Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey is anongoing independent research initiative created and conducted by Brick MeetsClick and sponsored by Mercatus. Brick Meets Click conducted the survey on March 30-31, 2023,with 1,742 adults, 18 years and older, who participated inthe household’s grocery shopping.

The three receiving methods for online grocery orders aredefined as follows:

• Delivery includes orders received from afirst- or third-party provider like Instacart, Shipt or the retailer's ownemployees.
• Pickup includes orders that are received bycustomers either inside or outside a store or at a designated location/locker.
• Ship-to-Home includes orders that are receivedvia common or contract carriers like FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc.

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 toreflect the national population of adults, 18 years and older, according to theU.S. Census Bureau. Brick Meets Click used a similar methodology for each ofthe surveys conducted in 2023 – Apr. 28-29 (n=1,746), Mar. 30-31 (n=1,742),  Feb. 26-27 (n=1,745), Jan. 30-31 (n=1,735);in 2022 – Dec. 28-29 (n=1,715), Nov. 29-30 (n=1,749), Oct. 28-29 (n= 1,732), Sept. 29-30 (n=1,752), Aug. 29-30 (n=1,743),July 29-30 (n=1,690), 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).

Photo credit: David Bishop, Brick Meets Click.