The February Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopper Survey is out, saying that “the U.S. online grocery market finished February with total monthly sales of $7.9 billion, down 10.5% compared to 2023.”
According to the report, “Lower average order values (AOV) were the central catalyst driving the downward year-over-year sales trends as Ship-to-Home dropped 15.4% and Pickup fell 12.8%. Delivery, the only method to expand sales, was up 4.7%, aided by a strong rebound in monthly active users (MAUs) versus last year.
“During February 2024, the weighted AOV across all receiving methods fell 10% compared to 2023. No method was spared from the AOV downturn: Ship-to-Home and Pickup both fell 13% and Delivery contracted by 7% versus last year. Most retailers and formats also experienced lower AOVs versus last year to varying degrees. Walmart had a relatively small 2% drop in AOV for Pickup and Delivery orders versus last year while the Supermarket format reported a 15% drop AOV for Pickup and Delivery compared to February 2023.”
The report also says that “in contrast to the spending downturn, all three receiving methods expanded their respective MAU bases. These across-the board gains were driven by an increase in the share of MAUs who received orders via multiple methods during the month as the overall user base slipped slightly, down 30 basis points (bps) compared to the prior year. Delivery, however, posted a significantly stronger expansion than either Pickup or Ship-to-Home due to easier comparisons versus last year.”
David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click, said in a prepared statement that “convenience remains one of the primary motivations for shopping online for groceries, however, for some customers, cost considerations are now weighing more heavily on their decision on how to shop. This means that the explicit costs associated with eGrocery services are more likely to impact how these customers grocery shop, whether that’s returning to in-store or shifting where they shop online.”
KC’s View:
Ebbs and flows seem inevitable to me. February is sort of a weird month anyway, and there is a perception of economic uncertainty out there that is affecting how people are shopping. I would think that we’ll see as rebound as the weather gets better, the economy continues to improve, and people begin to feel more hopeful about their prospects.
The post E-Grocery Business Showed Decline In February appeared first on MNB.
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