Online grocery sales hit $8 billion in November
Online grocery sales in the U.S. in November rose more than 5% compared the same month last year.
According to Brick Meets Click’s latest Grocery Shopping Survey, sales in November were $8.1 billion, compared to $7.7 billion in 2022. All three online grocery methods (delivery, pickup and ship-to-home) receiving methods contributed to the year-over-year sales growth.
The delivery channel’s 8.6% year-over-year sales growth was primarily driven by strong gains in its monthly active user (MAU) base, which helped grow order volume by 7.5% despite an increase of just 1.0% in average order value (AOV). Delivery accounted for nearly 33% of all online sales in November 2023, up 250 bps versus last year.
Brick Meets Click found that pickup sales grew only 1.6% during November compared to a year ago, boosted by AOV growth of 11.8%. This was tempered by a modest decline in its MAU base and lower order frequency which together pulled order volume down 9.2% versus last year. Pickup accounted for 38% of online grocery sales in November.
Ship-to-home sales grew 7.6% driven by solid MAU growth in Amazon’s pure-play services. Despite a decreased order frequency rate, this MAU growth led to a nearly 3% increase in overall order volume, and a 4.5% increase in AOV contributed to the balance of the sales gains in November. Ship-to-home accounted for 29% of online grocery sales in November.
For November, the research showed that 42% of U.S. households used a mass retailer for most of their in-store or online grocery purchases during the month, finishing 390 basis points (bps) higher than supermarkets for the same period. Brick Meets Click said this is a shift from May 2023, when the same percentage of households reported using supermarkets as their primary store, compared to 39% for mass.
“The current economic realities and omnichannel strategies are aiding mass retailers in attracting more customers today,” said David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click. “The price advantage that a Mass rival, such as Walmart, enjoys is motivating cash-strapped households to shift where they shop, and Mass customer engagement strategies are making it easier for those customers to shop the way they want.”
Mass continued to see strong growth in its MAU base in November, which grew by 14%. The supermarket MAU base shrank by 14% compared to 2022. Both channels reported lower order frequency among their MAU bases, with supermarket and mass each declining around 5%. For AOVs, mass posted a 9.0% increase across its delivery and pickup services while supermarket saw a 5.6% increase across its delivery and pickup services versus the prior year.
Online sales across all formats accounted for 11.7% of total weekly grocery spending during the last week of November, increasing 160 bps versus last year. Pickup and delivery combined, since most conventional supermarkets don’t offer ship-to-home, also grew 130 bps to finish the month at 9.8%.
Brick Meets Click conducted the survey, sponsored by Mercatus, on Nov. 29-30, 2023, with 1,814 adults, 18 years and older, who participated in the household’s grocery shopping.