Nearly two-thirds of U.S. households shopped groceries online in Q3
Online grocery sales continued their strong momentum in the third quarter.
For the past eight consecutive quarters, year-over-year growth in online grocery has exceeded 20%, which monthly Brick Meets Click grocery shopper surveys indicate has been fueled by steady gains in order frequency and an expanding monthly user base.
[READ MORE: Online grocery sales sustain strong growth rate in Q1 2026]
During the third quarter, Brick Meets Click surveys conducted during June, July and August reveal online grocery sales jumped 20.7% compared to the third quarter of 2025. All three methods of receiving online orders tracked by Brick Meets Click (delivery, pickup and ship-to-home) posted positive year-over-year gains.
Delivery drove three-quarters of the topline increase, growing more than 30% from the prior year period and adding more than five percentage points to its sales share for the quarter. The surveys show this growth largely came at expense of pickup, which only grew in the mid-single digits. Ship-to-home grew slightly less than the topline result of 20.7%.
During September, online grocery penetration reached a record high level of monthly active users (MAUs) as tracked by Brick Meets Click, representing nearly 64% of all U.S. households and surpassing the previous peak of nearly 62% set in October 2025. In addition, the total share of U.S. households that have ever bought groceries online ended the quarter at 81%.
Other findings
- Order frequency — the average number of online grocery orders completed by MAUs in a given month — rose nearly 14% year over year. Brick Meets Click analysis shows this increase corresponds with broader use of multiple eGrocery fulfillment methods, as 17% of MAUs used all three methods in the same month, up more than five percentage points from the third quarter of 2025.
- Ongoing gains in order frequency and the base of monthly users helped online grocery achieve its highest sales share during the quarter, capturing 20.9% of total grocery spending as in-store sales for the quarter declined year over year.
- During the quarter, customers’ likelihood of using the same online grocery shopping service again within the next 30 days climbed for the second year in a row. The repeat intent rate associated with using either a delivery or pickup service grew from 56% in 2024 to 61% in 2025 and to 62% this year.
“Customers today have a multitude of online grocery options that can satisfy a broad range of needs states and/or occasions from an urgent quick trip to a routine stock up,” said David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click. “Many of the newer online grocery offerings focus on shorter order cycle times, while others strive to provide ways to avoid paying more than necessary.”
The Brick Meets Click Grocery Shopping Survey is an ongoing independent research initiative created and conducted by Brick Meets Click. The monthly survey, running since March 2020, is conducted during the final days of each month with adults 18 years and older who participated in the household’s grocery shopping.The three receiving methods for online grocery orders are defined as follows:
- Delivery includes orders received from a first- or third-party provider like Instacart, Shipt or the retailer's own employees.
- Pickup includes orders that are received by customers either inside or outside a store or at a designated location/locker.
- Ship-to-home includes orders that are received via a common carrier or contract courier like FedEx, UPS or USPS.
