Online grocery sales rise 18% in December; finalize strong second half of year
Online grocery sales continued to see gains in 2024, ending the year with a large year-over-year increase in December.
The U.S. online grocery market ended December 2024 with $9.6 billion in monthly sales, an 18.7% increase over last year as all three fulfillment methods posted year-over-year gains, according to the latest Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopper Survey. December marked the fifth straight month of online grocery sales above $9.5 billion.
Overall online grocery sales during the first half of 2024 were basically flat, posting only a 0.3% gain versus the first half of 2023. But during the second half of 2024, online sales surged 17.7% year-over-year, driving annual sales up 9.1% compared to 2023.
[READ MORE: Online grocery sales see nearly 18% year-over-year rise in November]
All three receiving methods reported similar shifts in their sales performance between the first and second half of the year. Delivery’s growth rate increased from less than 4% in the first half of 2024 to more than 25% in the second half. Ship-to-home’s growth rate also jumped dramatically, increasing from 5% to approximately 20% between the two periods. Pickup, which declined 4% during the January-June period, posted a nearly 8% gain during the July-December 2024 period.
Brick Meets Click said the main difference between the two periods was the broad presence and aggressive promotion of annual subscriptions or memberships that began in mid-year and have continued off and on since then. Discounts, ranging from 33% to 80% off, were seen from a variety of retailers.
“While subscriptions and memberships aren’t new, the deep discounts were new, and they resonated with customers by offering the opportunity for significant savings,” said David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click. “As a result, customers are more vested in their provider-of-choice, motivating many to place more orders which helps those providers to gain a larger share of the grocery wallet and improve engagement and retention rates.”
In December, delivery grew 24.6% year-over-year to $4.0 billion, accounting for 41.7% of total online grocery sales, up from 39.8% last year. Pickup monthly sales climbed 5.3% year-over-year to $3.8 billion, as it ceded 500 basis points (bps) of share versus last year and finished with 39.4%. Ship-to-home sales increased nearly 40% year-over-year to $1.8 billion, contributing 18.9% of total online grocery sales, up from 15.9% in December 2023.
More than half of all monthly active users (MAUs) completed one or more online grocery orders with a mass retailer during December 2024, while only approximately one-third of all MAUs completed at least one online order with a grocery operator, which includes both supermarket and hard discount formats.
One-third of Grocery’s MAU base also completed an order with a mass retailer in the same month, jumping over 800 bps in December 2024 versus last year. When it comes to the likelihood that a customer will use the same service again within the next 30 days, Brick Meets Click said mass continues to post stronger repeat intent rates for both delivery and pickup services than grocery, although the gaps have narrowed versus last year.
"Regional grocers looking to boost eGrocery sales should focus on delivering real savings and targeted loyalty perks,” said Mark Fairhurst, chief growth marketing officer at Mercatus. “By leveraging AI-driven personalization and integrated loyalty solutions, grocers can convert occasional shoppers into loyal digital customers, driving repeat orders and larger baskets across both online and in-store channels, to fuel sustained growth.”
Brick Meets Click conducted the most recent survey on Dec. 30-31, 2024, with 1,694 adults, 18 years and older, who participated in the household’s grocery shopping, and a similar survey in December 2023. Results are adjusted based on internet usage among U.S. adults to account for the non-response bias associated with online surveys. Responses are geographically representative of the U.S. and weighted by age to reflect the national population of adults, 18 years and older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
