U.S. online grocery sales reached $8.5 billion in April, up 4% year-on-year

It is learned that on May 14, according to foreign media reports, driven by growth in the delivery field, US online grocery sales increased to US$8.5 billion in April, a year-on-year increase of 4%.

According to the latest Brick Meets Click and Mercatus Grocery Shopper Survey, U.S. grocery order frequency declined compared to a year ago as overall penetration remained stable. As a result, sales growth in April was driven primarily by home delivery.

Data shows that self-collection sales (customers pick up orders at a designated location) increased by 2.1% year-on-year in April, with average order value (AOV) climbing. The growth was due to the decrease in monthly active users of the service (mainly people over 60 years old) and the decline in order frequency, which was due to the overall higher consumption level.

Delivery sales (orders delivered by first-party, third-party vendors or retailer employees) climbed 4.3% in April. The growth in sales was driven by the expansion of monthly active users of the service, as major retailers launched subscription plans and increased penetration among users of all ages. Compared with April 2023, order volume increased, while AOV remained essentially unchanged.

Meanwhile, home delivery sales grew 10.2% year-over-year, accounting for 18.7% of online grocery sales, driven by a modest expansion in its monthly active user base. However, a decline in order frequency for home delivery services led to an overall decrease in order volume.

Currently, more and more online customers are starting to buy groceries from large retailers. In April 2024, orders provided by large retailers accounted for 51% of the online grocery monthly active user base, an increase of 500 basis points year-on-year. In contrast, in April 2024, orders from supermarket retailers accounted for only 30%, a decrease of 280 basis points year-on-year.

Mercatus Chief Growth Officer Mark Fairhurst said that given the shift in consumer purchasing patterns, especially changes in shopping activities between supermarkets and large retailers, grocers need to improve the online and in-store shopping experience through technology investments. Currently, large retailers such as Walmart and Target have invested heavily in their applications, using emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence to enhance their ability to predict and adapt to customer behavior in real time.

Author ✎Rayna/

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