Americans are continuing to buy more of their groceries online, with a recent study expecting that trend to grow exponentially over the next five years.
E-commerce grocery sales in the U.S. are projected to increase at a compounded annual growth rate of 4.5 percent – more than three times faster than the 1.3 percent rate expected for in-store sales over the next five years, according to “U.S. eGrocery Sales Forecast: 2024-28,” a new report compiled by retail data site Brick Meets Click.
On the back of that projected growth, total online grocery sales, which include delivery, pick-up, and ship-to-home segments, are projected to reach nearly USD 120 billion (EUR 112 billion) in the U.S. annually by the end of 2028 and account for 12.7 percent of total U.S. grocery sales.
Walmart in particular is emerging as a force in the e-commerce grocery space. The retailer has expanded its online grocery market share by 620 basis points since 2021, ending 2023 by accounting for 45.4 percent of all online grocery sales in the U.S., according to Brick Meets Click.
Though total U.S. e-commerce sales are expected to soar, Brick Meets Click forecasts overall U.S. grocery sales to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 1.6 percent through 2028, considerably slower than the 5.6 percent posted over the five years ending in 2023.
Brick Meets Click attributed the large growth over the past five years mainly to the pandemic and inflation, both of which led people to shop more for groceries rather than go out to eat.
“Even though inflation has recently fallen faster than expected, its cumulative effect continues to drive a flight-to-value behavior in grocery shopping and that will slow topline sales growth,” Brick Meets Click Partner David Bishop said.
As inflation remains a pesky issue, grocers across the country are ...
