Online grocery sales to spike in US
Online grocery shopping could account for a fifth of all retail grocery sales in the US by 2025.
That means American consumers would be spending about $100 billion a year buying their groceries (foods, drinks and other CPG products) online – the equivalent of about 3900 grocery stores based on store volume.
These are among the forecasts in a preview of joint research by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and Nielsen.
In a press release, they said their “Digitally Engaged Food Shopper” study shows that within the next decade, online food shopping will reach maturation in the US, “far faster than other industries that have come online before.”
Chris Morley, president of U.S. Buy at Nielsen said the need for retailers and manufacturers to know the differences around how consumers shop online versus in-store is greater than ever before.
Grocery the next big retail sector to be reshaped by digital
Key findings from the research include:
- About 23% of American households are buying food online today.
- Of those that will buy online, 60% expect to spend over a quarter of their food dollars online in ten years.
- Grocery shopping will reach digital maturity and saturation faster than other industries have, such as publishing or banking.
- Younger, newer and more engaged digital shoppers adopt grocery related digital technologies more quickly and will hasten the expansion of digital grocery shopping further.
According to the FMI and Nielsen, the six most important factors for online grocery shoppers are trust, value, experience, assortment, convenience and personalisation.
