Homebound Shoppers Click to Record Sales

Homebound, budget-conscious and virus-wary U.S. consumers spent a record $5.3 billion on e-commerce grocery shopping during April, an increase of 37% from what they spent in March, according to a new survey released this week by Brick Meets Click and Symphony RetailAI.

The total spend recorded in the survey, which was conducted April 22-25 and included results for the prior 30-day period, included a 33% increase in the number of shopping trips and a 3% increase in average order size.

The researchers noted that 47% of the households surveyed reported a high level of concern about contracting the coronavirus, which was among the motivations for purchasing online. An estimated 49 million households—or 39% of respondents—also reported a 25% or greater loss of income as compared to the January/February survey.

“These two factors are particularly important for retailers to understand,” David Bishop, partner with Brick Meets Click, said in a release. “The level of concern that customers have about health affects how they choose to shop–online or in-store–and the loss of income impacts where consumers shop and what they buy.” 

The average basket size increased by $3 from $82 to $85, and average trips per month increased from 1.2 times during March to 1.6 times.

The number of active online grocery shoppers who received a home delivery or store pickup order grew slightly more than 1% vs. the previous month, bringing the total number of U.S. households shopping online for groceries to about 40 million for April, the survey further found.

Shopper satisfaction improved only slightly during the month based on the likelihood to shop the same service provider again. In April, 50% of households said they were likely to shop from the same provider again compared to 47% in March. This reflects the reality that current shopping experiences are still challenged by out-of-stocks and limited availability for pickup and delivery time slots as demand continues to outpace capacity.