Online Grocery Sales Reach Record $10.5 Billion in October

Online grocery sales surged by 28% year over year, reaching a record $10.5 billion in October, according to the latest Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopper Survey released Wednesday. This marks the second consecutive month that online grocery sales have grown by more than 20%, highlighting a strong trend in consumer behavior.

The delivery channel saw the most significant growth, skyrocketing by 46%, reaching $4.8 billion, a new record for the segment. Delivery’s monthly active user base grew by 16% year over year, with the biggest gains seen in households aged 30 to 60. Additionally, order volume for delivery jumped by 24% month over month, and average order value (AOV) climbed by more than 15%, driven by increased frequency of use and higher spending from regular customers.

Grocery pickup also posted substantial growth, with $4.2 billion in sales, a 20% increase year over year. Pickup orders rose by 6%, largely due to a 13% increase in average order volume.

Meanwhile, ship-to-home services saw a 6% boost, totaling $1.5 billion in sales. This growth was driven by increased demand from younger consumers aged 18 to 29 and older customers over 60. The average order value for ship-to-home rose by nearly 12%, with Amazon’s pure-play segments contributing to nearly 16% year-over-year growth.

Overall, the monthly average user base across all three methods (delivery, pickup, and ship-to-home) grew by 1.6%, with more than half (54%) of U.S. households placing at least one online grocery order in October. The increase in online shoppers was fueled by lapsed users returning to online grocery shopping.

The growth was largely attributed to discounts and promotions offered by grocers, with companies like Kroger, Walmart, and Instacart offering deep discounts on their membership programs. This surge in sales was also supported by free delivery offers and extended trial memberships, such as DoorDash and Uber’s 30-day free trials and Amazon’s 90-day free trial for Prime memberships.

David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click, highlighted that delivery services are benefiting from a new growth curve driven by promotional offers that encourage customers to commit for the long term. The report also noted a rise in cross-shopping behaviors, as 40% of households ordered groceries from both traditional grocers and mass merchants in October, marking a five percentage point increase compared to last year.

Mark Fairhurst, Chief Growth Officer at Mercatus, suggested that regional grocers can leverage these insights by enhancing loyalty programs and offering personalized, targeted campaigns that integrate both online and offline promotions to strengthen their position in the competitive grocery market.