US food and grocery e-commerce sales are expected to reach $1.097 trillion in 2021, accounting for 9.5% of the market!

Recently, according to a survey by Mercatus, an online grocery research company, in 2021, US grocery e-commerce sales will account for 9.5% of the total market sales, reaching $1.097 trillion, higher than $1.137 trillion and 8.1% in 2020. Moreover, in the next five years, grocery e-commerce sales will account for more than 20% of the market, a few years earlier than predicted.

According to Mercatus, before the pandemic, it was expected that US grocery e-commerce sales would account for 4.3% of total sales in 2020, but the actual share was 8.1%, far higher than expected. In 2022, the online share is expected to account for 11.1% of grocery sales and expand to 20.5% in 2026.

According to Mercatus, before the pandemic, 27% of U.S. consumers chose home delivery when buying groceries online, 33% chose curbside pickup, and 40% chose in-store pickup. During the outbreak, 31% chose home delivery, 41% chose curbside pickup, and 28% chose in-store pickup. Now, U.S. consumers are more inclined to choose in-store pickup (44%) and curbside pickup (31%) rather than home delivery (24%).

In addition, most American consumers said that shipping costs and surcharges are important factors in choosing delivery services for food and groceries. Among consumers aged 25-45, 68% value delivery speed more, and 37% are willing to pay extra to receive goods in a short time. There are some changes in those aged 45-65 and 65+, as shown in the figure above.

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