Video: eGrocery Insights - September 2024

In this US eGrocery Sales Trends video, Mark Fairhurst, Chief Growth Officer at Mercatus, and David Bishop, Partner at Brick Meets Click, use September 2024 sales data to dive deep into the latest developments in the eGrocery market.

September is the fourth successive month of year-over-year e Grocery sales growth in 2024 as promotions from big players like Walmart and Instacart are driving growth for Delivery.

Mark and David explore what this means for the broader market, particularly for regional grocers, and consider whether this growth represents a rising tide lifting all boats or simply the rich getting richer.

Are these recent sales increases,especially as online grocery shopping approaches 80% saturation, sustainable? This prompted a discussion of the long-term impact of these promotions and the challenge of retaining customers after the initial promotional period.

Looking ahead, we expect that sales will remain strong through the holiday season, with Walmart potentially benefiting even more due to its one-stop shop convenience and general merchandise sales.

Shifting to repeat intent rates, the gap between Mass and Supermarkets continues to widen, particularly for Delivery services. However, if Regional Grocers can improve their pickup services, customer communication, and personalized customer experiences, there is a potential opportunity for them to differentiate themselves from Mass retailers.

Both Mark and David stress that grocers must prioritize execution,especially around order fulfillment and communication, to avoid losing consumer trust, particularly when issues like canceled orders could push customers toward larger competitors.

Video Chapters

0:00 - Introductions and opening remarks

0:49 - September eGrocery Sales and Walmart’s Lead

2:09 - Sustainability of current eGrocery trends

4:06 - Preparing for the Holiday Season and Q4 Predictions

5:30 - Promotional activities driving Online Grocery growth

6:20 - Repeat Intent Rate gap between Mass and Supermarkets widens

8:58 - Promotional activities driving Online Grocery growth

12:45 - The importance of communication from the retailer to their customer

13:41 - Customer experience and the impact of canceled orders