Report Finds that E-Grocery Sales Dropped 23% in June

The Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey for June 2021 was recently published. The survey reports that online grocery sales for June were down 23% when compared to June 2020 sales. The Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey is an ongoing independent research initiative created and conducted by Brick Meets Click and sponsored by Mercatus.
Survey Findings
According to the survey’s sponsors, the 23% drop is due to a decrease in the number of monthly active users (MAUs), order frequency, and spending per order.
In addition to the reduced sales, the survey found that:
- MAUs dropped by 12% in June when compared to June 2020,
- MAUs declined across all age groups (while the youngest (ages 18-29 years of age) and the oldest (>60 years of age) dropped by more than 15%, the core customers (ages 30-44 years old) only dropped by 6%,
- MAUs for June 2021 placed an average of 2.70 online orders, a 6% decrease from 2.89 orders in June 2020,
- The average order value (AOV) for June 2021 dropped by over 11% when compared to June 2020, and
- June 2021’s AOVs were above pre-pandemic spending levels, with delivery up by 6%, ship-to-home up 14%, and pickup up by 12%.
Brand Focus Digital’s Take
June 2021 saw vaccinated people leaving their homes to shop live in stores. When we look at June 2020, Covid was wreaking havoc and pandemic related vaccines were not available. The 23% reduction simply reflects the reality that people are no longer largely confined to their homes where they are ordering groceries online.
The last bullet point is huge. We probably all knew that E-grocery sales would drop once COVID cases began to lower and more people became vaccinated. However, as AOVs remain above pre-pandemic spending levels, the figures show that consumers have established habits and patterns of online grocery shopping.
The U.S. still does not have COVID under control. Cases involving the Delta variant are on the rise and there are rumors of once again going back to wearing masks on a full-time basis. If this is the case, we may see last month’s reduction go down in size or perhaps see an increase in E-grocery sales for the next few months.
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