The U.S. online grocery market generated $6.7 billion in sales during July, a 2 percent decline month over month, according to the latest Brick Meets Click/Mercaus Grocery Shopping Survey. Ship-to-home sales declined to $1.4 billion, while the combined pickup/delivery segment remained steady at $5.3 billion for the third straight month.
“The July results clearly reinforce that online shopping has maintained a significant portion of last year’s gains, especially for pickup and delivery, but the surge in new COVID-19 cases during July appears to have impacted shoppers’ buying behaviors differently than at the onset of this crisis in 2020,” said David Bishop, partner, Brick Meets Click, in a statement.
The share of online customers who used both a grocery service and a mass/discount service to buy groceries during July 2021 contracted to 25 percent, down about three percentage points versus the prior month. This downtick was attributed to fewer grocery customers shopping with mass/discount retailers other than Target or Walmart, as cross shopping with both these two retailers increased between the June and July months.
“Grocers should be thinking about near-term improvements that will set them up for ongoing success as the monthly results reinforce that the online customer wants flexibility and convenience,” said Sylvain Perrier, president and CEO, Mercatus, in a statement. “Progressive retailers are reducing operational sources of friction, like the frustration and uncertainty associated with wait times. At the same time, grocers need to better understand their core customer so they can build more meaningful engagement that leads to increased share of wallet.”
Related: Report: Food, Beverage Fastest Growing Online Sales Category; Report: Omnichannel Shoppers Spend More.