Online grocery sales to total $27 billion in 2014

New York -- By 2023, online grocery sales are projected to range between $80 billion and $123 billion according to statistics released by Steve Bishop of Brick Meets Click (BMC) in a presentation at The Food Institute webinar "Get In On The Growth of Online Shopping." If realized, at the middle of those two projections online grocery sales would exceed today's sales of the nation's largest supermarket chain, Kroger.



Online grocery sales in 2014 are estimated by BMC to be about $27 billion. Bishop suggested traditional brick and mortar grocers respond accordingly since online sales will increasingly cannibalize in-store sales.



"The question and opportunity is who will capture the growing online sales,” Bishop said. “Will the in-store lost sales be recaptured and offset by your online channel or lost to the competition? It's a good time to step up your online game.”



Online grocery store sales account for about 4% of market-level spending. But over the next decade it's expected these sales will account for between 11% and 17% of the total, with some major markets such as New York and San Francisco potentially exceeding that level while others falling below that 11% figure, where there is less invested online, Bishop added.