TL;DR
E-grocery sales are declining, showing a 7% decrease in online grocery sales compared to last year. The digital share of the grocery market is now at 13.2%. The slowdown is seen across all fulfillment methods, with delivery down by 13%, pickup by 3%, and ship-to-home by 2%. Lower order frequency and reduced spending per order contribute to this slowdown. Traditional grocers can stay competitive by offering value, convenience, and loyalty programs to attract and keep new online buyers.
E-grocery sales, the practice of buying groceries online, are not growing as fast as before. As reported by Progressive Grocer, online grocery sales dropped by 7% compared to the previous year, amounting to $7.2 billion. This decline indicates that people are buying fewer groceries online. The portion of total grocery spending that happens online has also decreased by 130 basis points, now accounting for 13.2% of the market.
This change affects all ways of getting groceries online. The survey found that delivery orders dropped by 13% compared to the previous year, while pickup decreased by 3%, and ship-to-home orders went down by 2%.
This drop in online grocery sales is caused by people ordering groceries less often and spending less money on each order. The frequency of placing orders has decreased by 10% compared to the previous year, and the average amount spent on each order has gone down by 1.5%.
This decline is due to the financial difficulties that many people are facing nowadays. This situation, combined with changing expectations shaped by big retailers, is making the gap between regular grocery stores and large retail chains bigger.
However, there is some good news. Even though sales are decreasing, more and more people are trying e-grocery shopping. The survey shows that the number of households in the U.S. buying groceries online has increased by 5% compared to last year. Many of these new buyers prefer using pickup services rather than getting their groceries delivered to their homes.
Traditional grocery stores can still compete in this changing market. He advises them to focus on their strengths, such as offering good value for the money and convenient ways to save, like promotions and digital coupons. Loyalty programs can also attract and keep customers by offering rewards that remind them of the benefits of shopping online.
