June 2024 U.S. eGrocery Sales Total $7.7 Billion, up 8% Versus Year Ago

Pickup remains the share leader, but deep-discounted membership deals fuel Delivery’s strong monthly results while Ship-to-Home shows steady signs of rebuilding.

Barrington, Ill. – June 15, 2024 – The U.S.online grocery market finished June 2024 with $7.7 billion in monthly sales, an8.0% increase over last year. Delivery sales surged after aggressive promotions last month, Ship-to-Home posted strong results due to increased spending per order, and Pickup held steady year-over-year according to the Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopper Survey fielded June 30-31,2024.

During June ’24, Delivery sales jumped to $2.9 billion, up 18% compared to a year ago. The year-over-year gain was driven by surges in the monthly active user (MAU) base and higher order activity although the average order value (AOV) fell somewhat. The month’s strong performance enabled Delivery to gain 325 basis points (bps) versus last year, capturing 38% of eGrocery sales for June ’24.

“Delivery’s strong performance in June likely benefited from the promotional offers made last month, first by Instacart and then by Walmart,”said David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click. “These promotions focused on Delivery and offered deep discounts on each service’s annual membership fees,which helped boost both MAUs and order frequency for Delivery and for Walmart.”

June’s Pickup sales of $3.5 billion remained essentially unchanged on a year-over-year basis even though the MAU base for Pickup expanded in the mid-single digit range. A combination of slightly lower AOV and a decline in order frequency offset the positive effects of a larger MAU base. As a result, Pickup’s share of eGrocery sales fell 352 bps on a year-over-year basis to finish at 45%in June ’24, but it remains the share leader.

Ship-to-Home sales climbed nearly 10% versus last year to $1.3 billion or June ’24, marking its fourth straight month of year-over-year sales gains. Higher AOVs drove the sales lift despite a 1% contraction in its MAU base and a dip in order frequency. Ship-to-Home finished June ’24 with almost 17% of eGrocery sales, up 26 bps compared to a year ago.

The overall eGrocery MAU base expanded nearly 4% versus June ’23, driven almost entirely by reactivating lapsed users. In contrast, the total pool of households that have ever bought groceries online grew just 14 bps over the same period. The gap between these two measures highlights the fact that the increase in customers during June ’24 is largely due to less-frequent users making another order or lapsed customers who are giving the service another chance.

Cross-shopping rates for June ’24 remained elevated as nearly one in three customers bought online from both Grocery and Mass formats during the past month. The share of Grocery customers (which includes both Supermarkets and Hard Discounters) that also received an online grocery order from a Mass retailer in June finished at 31.6%, and the share of Grocery customers who received online orders from Walmart specifically reached nearly 22%, up 150 bps versus last year.

June’s overall repeat intent rates (a measure of the likelihood that a customer will complete another online order in the next 30 days with the used most recently) dropped nearly seven percentage points to 56.0%compared to last year. The lower overall rate is concerning because the year-over-year drop was driven by the most frequent users of a given service –those who completed 4 or more orders during the past three months. This frequent-user cohort, which represents about half of the online customer base, posted an almost ten-point drop versus June ’23. Another concerning trend is that Grocery’s repeat intent rate dropped by twice as much as the Mass repeat intent rate on a yearly basis.

In terms of where households report buying most of their groceries,whether in-store or online, the Mass format expanded its share by approximately190 bps to 42% in June ’24 versus last year, while the Supermarket 250 bps to 39%. Most of the share shift was the result of an uptick in households with annual incomes under $50,000 doing their grocery shopping primarily at a Mass retailer.  

"Regional grocers need to stem the tide and regain market share by leveling the playing field against mass merchants,despite these rivals having a price advantage," said Mark Fairhurst, Chief Growth Officer at Mercatus. "Integrating personalized and targeted promotions into their first-party platform experience will be key tore-engaging lapsed customers and improving repeat purchase rates. Additionally,incorporating high-level, in-store customer service into the digital experience– a strength that regionals are known for – will be crucial and can give them an advantage over their mass competitors."

For more information about June 2024 results, check out the latest Brick Meets Click eGrocery Dashboard or visit the eGrocery Monthly Sales report page for information about subscribing to the full monthly report.

About this consumer research
The Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey is an ongoing independent research initiative created and conducted by the team at Brick Meets Click and sponsored by Mercatus.

Brick Meets Click conducted the most recent survey on June 30-31,2024, with 1,744 adults, 18 years and older, who participated in the household’s grocery shopping, and a similar survey in June 2023 (n=1,769).   Results are 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.

The three receiving methods for online grocery orders are defined as follows:

·       Delivery includes orders received from a first- or third-party provider like Instacart, Shipt or the retailer's own employees.

·       Pickup includes orders that are received by customers either inside or outside a store or at a designated location/locker.

·       Ship-to-Home includes orders that are received via common or contract carriers like FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc.

About Brick Meets Click

‍Brick Meets Click is an analytics and strategic insight firm that connects today's grocery business with tomorrow's needs. Our clear thinking and practical solutions help clients make their strategies and customer offers more compelling and relevant in the changing U.S. grocery market. We bring deep industry expertise and fact-based analysis to the challenge of finding new routes to success.

About Mercatus

Mercatus drives digital transformation for retailers through an extensive suite of connected and contextualized commerce solutions. We enhance shopper engagement, tailor experiences to individual preferences, and cultivate enduring loyalty across retail businesses of every size. Our mission is to enable retailers to captivate customers, boost sales, foster retention, and deepen loyalty in a digital world. With our cutting-edge solutions, retailers can streamline operations, enrich customer experiences, and realize substantial growth. Embark on the digital transformation journey and unleash the full potential of your retail business with Mercatus.