U.S. online grocery sales fell in May as pickup orders fell

According to data from Brick Meets Click and Mercatus Grocery Shopping Monthly Survey, in May 2024, self-pickup orders accounted for the majority of online grocery sales in the United States, but sales declined both year-on-year and month-on-month, from $6.9 billion in 2023 to $6.8 billion in 2024 .

Brick Meets Click said the May 2024 data was based on a survey of 1,724 U.S. adults. The data showed that the decline in pickup sales was due to a decrease in pickup sales in May 2024 compared to the same period in 2023 and lower than in April 2024.

In addition, although the overall monthly active users (MAU) increased by 3%, the sales volume of self-pickup orders showed a downward trend. This may be due to the fact that lapsed users made online purchases again, thus driving the growth of MAU.

“The decline in monthly sales performance was primarily due to a 6% decrease in order frequency and a slight decrease in average order value (AOV),” Brick Meets Click said in a statement.

Brick Meets Click and Mercatus define the three delivery methods for online grocery sales as:

• Merchant delivery: The order is delivered by the first vendor or a third-party vendor (such as Instacart, Shipt, or the retailer’s own employees).

• Pick Up: Customers pick up their orders inside or outside the store or at a designated location/locker.

• Home delivery: Orders are delivered through logistics such as FedEx, UPS, and USPS.

“While customers love the convenience of online shopping, they are increasingly looking for ways to save money as inflation takes its toll on household finances,” said Mark Fairhurst, Mercatus’ chief growth officer, in a statement. “To better attract and retain customers, we need to provide more targeted, personalized offers and services based on their purchase history, shopping preferences, user data and search behavior.”

As the main delivery method, online sales of pickup fell to US$3.3 billion in May 2024, a decrease of 3.9% from US$3.5 billion in the same period of 2023.

Merchant delivery sales remain at the same level in May 2024 and May 2023, both at $2.2 billion.

The only delivery method that grew was home delivery, with sales reaching $1.3 billion in May 2024, up 9% from $1.2 billion in the same period last year.

“Delivery services benefited from significant discounts on annual memberships offered by Instacart and Walmart in May,” David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click, said in a statement. “These promotions likely drove significant growth in monthly active users for delivery services, as companies like Instacart and Walmart maintain customer loyalty by promising customers that their one-month subscription will be extended to 12 months.”

Author✎ Summer/
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