June online grocery sales jumped 9% compared with May, according to a survey from Brick Meets Click/Mercatus.
With sales estimated at $7.2 billion in June, 45.6 million households used delivery and pickup services for their grocery needs, according to the survey.
The Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Survey collected data June 24-25 and reported that order frequency, compared with May, grew from 1.7 to 1.9 orders per month for active households.
The increase in online orders, according to a news release, was driven by increased concerns about the coronavirus and greater online fulfillment capacity offered by retailers.
“Many grocery retailers have demonstrated amazing agility since the health crisis started, building surge capacity to better meet the astronomical growth in demand for shopping online,” David Bishop, partner and research lead for Brick Meets Click, said in the release. “Today as shoppers have more choice, the increased capacity is now actually enabling the continued growth of online grocery.”
In June, 44% of all households reported high levels of concern about someone in their household contracting COVID-19, up 2% from the previous month, according to the survey. The over-60 age segment reported a 9% increase in high levels of concern, compared with May, according to the release.
More independent retailers began offering online options for pickup and home delivery in June, and the release said larger chains also expanded their online efforts.
The survey found that the likelihood for a shopper to use a specific online grocery service again within the next 30 days is at 57%. That is up about 1% from May but still far below the pre-COVID repeat rate that stood at 74% during August 2019.
Interest in receiving an online grocery order (via pickup or home delivery) rebounded slightly in June, with 32% of all households being extremely or very likely to use a service within the next 90 days, up 2% from May, according to the release. The interest in using online grocery services was strongest among households who used these types of services in June, with 57% of that group indicating that they are extremely or very likely to do so as compared to 17% of the non-active households.
“Even though some retailers have seen sales decline within their respective business, the new reality of increased capacity across the market — and related greater choice (or options) for shoppers — means that all grocery retailers will need to accelerate their efforts to make shopping online even more seamless to thrive going forward,” Bishop said in the release.
