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Online grocery sales jump 37% in April

Orders, shoppers and basket size on the upswing, Brick Meets Click says

Russell Redman

April 28, 2020

3 Min Read
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Home delivery and store pickup online grocery sales reached a new 30-day record for April, hitting $5.3 billion and marking a 37% increase from $4 billion in March, according to the latest Brick Meets Click and Symphony RetailAI Online Grocery Survey.

Strategic advisory firm Brick Meets Click said Tuesday the month-over-month sales growth reflects a 33% increase in the monthly number of online orders, from 46.9 million to 62.5 million, plus a 3% gain in order size — from $82 to $85 — as households continue stock-up purchases of essential products. The Brick Meets Click/Symphony RetailAI poll was conducted April 22 to 25.

Compared with March, the number of active online grocery shoppers in April who received a home delivery or picked up an order at a store rose just over 1%, lifting the total of U.S. households shopping online for groceries from 39.5 million to about 40 million for April, Brick Meets Click reported. On average, online shoppers made 1.6 orders for delivery or pickup over the past 30 days versus 1.2 orders for March.

Brick Meets Click April 2020 Online Grocery Scorecard
 
Customer satisfaction with online grocery service also edged up in April. For the month, 50% of households said they were likely to shop from the same service provider again, compared with 47% in March. Brick Meets Click said that result indicates current shopping experiences are still impacted by out-of-stocks and limited availability for pickup and delivery time slots, as COVID-19-driven demand outpaces capacity.

Related:How the coronavirus crisis is changing grocery shopping

Health and financial concerns among consumers remain key factors shaping online grocery shopping behavior, whether for delivery or pickup, the Brick Meets Click/Symphony RetailAI survey shows.

Forty-seven percent of households polled expressed a high level of concern about getting the virus. Meanwhile, 39% of respondents reported a 25% or greater drop in monthly income versus the January/February time period. Brick Meets Click noted that percentage represents an estimated 49 million households, a number that “goes well beyond unemployment figures” because many of those people are earning less despite still having a job.

“These two factors are particularly important for retailers to understand,” according to David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click. “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.”

On the plus side, the latest Brick Meets Click/Symphony RetailAI study results revealed more potential for the growth of online grocery business. Twenty-six percent of households that hadn’t bought groceries online in the last 30 days said they were extremely or very likely to try online shopping in the next three months.

Related:Instacart aims to add 250,000 more personal shoppers

While this is good news for brick-and-mortar retailers offering grocery delivery and/or pickup services, it also represents a challenge, noted Kevin Sterneckert, chief Marketing officer at Dallas-based Symphony RetailAI.

“The ongoing shifts in spending mean that retailers will need to work carefully in applying historical sales data to forecast future sales, if they are going to be accurately aligned with shoppers,” Sterneckert said. “True demand, which includes lost sales and other characteristics beyond transactions at the register, is crucially important here. Today’s retail winners will be those that best understand their customers and can meet and exceed their expectations the fastest.”

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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