U.S. online grocery sales reached nearly $98 billion last year, according to Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey.
In 2021, the online grocery market totaled $97.7 billion in sales by pickup, delivery, and ship-to-home channels. Brick Meets Click found 93 million households, or more than 70% of U.S. households, received one or more orders during the year.
This reflects the continuing growth of groceries online over the years. In 2021, online grocery garnered a 13% share of total grocery spending, an increase of almost two percentage points from 2020.
Last year, the average number of online grocery orders placed by monthly active users stood at 2.74 per month, which is down 1% from 2020. However, Brick Meets Click cited volatility in 2021’s monthly order frequency which fell 60% when compared to 2020 levels. This indicated buying patterns were becoming more entrenched at an elevated level; about 35% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Mass merchants remain the toughest online competition for supermarkets and other grocery retailers. In December, the share of shoppers who placed at least one online order a month with a mass merchant climbed 29%, a record high according to Brick Meets Click.
The study was conducted on Dec. 29 and 30 by Brick Meets Click and polled 1,836 U.S. adults who participated in their household’s grocery shopping and made an online grocery purchase in the previous 30 days. The national research was also sponsored by Mercatus.