Total online grocery sales in September decreased by three percent year over year to $7.8 billion, according to a report by Brick Meets Click and Mercatus. Over the entire quarter, however, online grocery sales are up four percent from 2021.
The overall gains are thanks to a pervasive increase in grocery delivery purchases, up to $9.3 billion in Q3 spending from $7.7 billion in 2021. Grocery pickup over the same time period also increased marginally, up $0.1 billion. Despite this increase, the segment saw a six percent drop in September sales.
“The COVID pandemic motivated trial of delivery and pickup services at a scale that no one could have predicted,” said David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click, in a statement. “And, as the pandemic evolves, it’s increasingly clear that many households find online grocery shopping an acceptable option to complement their new in-store shopping behaviors.”
Pickup is the largest segment of online grocery sales, second to delivery, then ship-to-home. Because of the big gains in delivery, however, the gap between pickup and delivery market share has shrunk to $1.4 billion over the quarter, from $2.9 billion over the same time last year.
The report also found that ship-to-home usage has declined, down to $4.2 billion in Q3 of this year from $5 billion in 2021. On average, the monthly active user base of this population contracted at a faster rate each month of the quarter, shrinking by almost 11 percent in September.
Repeat intent with grocery purchases was shown to be on a rise: the likelihood that online grocery customers will use the service again within 30 days increased by three percentage points compared to 2021 to 63 percent for the quarter.
Related: Supermarket Deals Dwindle; More Shoppers Choosing Sustainable Food Options