Video: eGrocery Insights - December 2024

Welcome to Dec ‘24 episode of US eGrocery Sales Trends, hosted by Mark Fairhurst, Chief Growth Officer at Mercatus, and David Bishop, Partner at Brick Meets Click as they explore the dramatic shifts in eGrocery sales throughout 2024.

While the 1H24 saw flat growth, 2H24 surged with an impressive 18% year-over-year increase, fueled by aggressive discounting of subscription program expansions from industry leaders like Walmart, Amazon, and Instacart plus many national and regional grocers as well.

Walmart’s transformative strategy, including its shift from Pickup to full-scale delivery, gets credit for driving much of the results. Their focus has not only driven substantial growth but also attracted new customers who hadn’t previously shopped at Walmart’s physical stores. Walmart’s deep discounts on memberships, such as the 50% off Walmart+ promotion, removed barriers like delivery fees and created a virtuous cycle of savings and loyalty.

Mark and David also share actionable advice for regional operators, including ways to build loyalty through targeted promotions, exclusive member benefits, and surprise-and-delight tactics like product sampling. They also stress the importance of leveraging data to enhance personalization and improve the overall customer experience, helping to drive frequency and retention.

The discussion also touches on the growing importance of health-conscious shopping, driven by trends like GLP weight-loss drugs. Mark and David explore how supermarkets can differentiate by curating fresh, local, and healthy assortments, and offering solutions that help shoppers make better lifestyle decisions.

Finally, looking ahead to 2025, Mark and David share their thoughts on the potential impact of economic uncertainty, tariffs, and evolving consumer behaviors. They talk about how all of the recent trends of the last six months combined with potential black swan events will impact the next five-year forecast.

Chapters

0:00 – Introductions

0:25 – 2024 eGrocery Sales Overview: A Tale of Two Halves

2:25 – Walmart’s Pivot to Delivery and Market Disruption

5:10 – The Potential Impact of Tariffs on Grocery Retail

8:40 – Regional Grocers: Loyalty Strategies and Challenges

11:30 – Perks Regional Grocers Can Use to Improve the Customer Experience

13:25 – Health-Conscious Shopping and GLP Trends

15:23 – Looking Ahead to 2025