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Grocery Trends with Brick Meets Click – May 2022 Insights

Overview

In May of 2022, total online grocery sales reached $7.1 billion dollars, a 1.7% increase from the year prior. This is in part due to inflation, which has led many customers to change where and how they purchase groceries online. The Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey was conducted from May 28-29th of 2022 in order to gauge consumer behaviour in light of these changes. The results showed that people are increasingly turning to online grocery shopping as a way to save money. In addition, many people are using online grocery services as a way to avoid going to the store altogether. This trend is likely to continue as inflation rates remain high and people look for ways to save money on groceries.

According to recent data, pickup orders made up for 45% of all eGrocery sales in the month of May. This is a 9% increase from the same time period last year and can be attributed to the fact that there was also a 10% growth in the monthly active user base.

Although the average order value (AOV) rose by a mid-single digit, this was offset by a nominal drop in the frequency of orders. In contrast, delivery sales only increased by 5% compared to last year’s figures. This is despite more modest gains in MAUs and AOV as well as a 5% decrease in the frequency of orders.

Lastly, ship-to-home sales constituted 19% of all eGrocery sales in May but experienced a 16% decline when compared to last year. The main drivers behind this decrease were a more than 10% pullback in AOV and a similar rate of decline in order frequency. These were countered somewhat by the over 9% gain in MAUs.

As prices continue to rise, shoppers are becoming more and more focused on finding ways to save money. The percentage of shoppers who cited costs as the most important selection criterion rose 6 points from 37% in August 2020 to 43% in May 2022. This is a significant increase, and further highlights that shoppers are increasingly looking for ways to stretch their budgets.

Regardless of the type of product they’re shopping for, it’s clear that consumers are becoming more and more cost-conscious. In a time of economic uncertainty, everyone is looking for ways to save money, and that means that grocery businesses need to be aware of this trend, adapt and adjust their pricing accordingly.

Read the full May 2022 U.S. online grocery sales announcement here.

Speakers

David Bishop Brick Meets Click

David Bishop

Partner, Brick Meets Click