US e-grocery sales jump 17% in July

Inflationary pressures and ongoing Covid concerns drove a 17% rise in US online grocery sales in July compared to a year earlier, according to the Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey. Over 68 million households bought groceries online in July, up 3% from 2021. However, only the Pickup and Delivery segments saw increased demand. Pickup’s monthly active users (MAU) rose by over 5% and Delivery’s expanded by nearly 4%, while Ship-to-Home users were down by over 4%.

David Bishop, a partner at Brick Meets Click, said: 

“Covid-19 concerns coupled with inflation have forced a tradeoff between two fundamental desires for shoppers – not getting infected and not paying more than necessary. While online shopping – especially delivery – costs more than in-store shopping, using an online service may help prevent illness which could cost more in the long term due to lost wages and other life complications.”

The research found that only one-fifth of households were “not at all concerned” about catching Covid-19, and 36% of those households reported using a grocery pickup and/or delivery service during the past month.