Walmart is top online grocery retailer, Instacart a hit with younger shoppers
Some say online shopping is a byproduct of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that is narrow thinking. The leading driver of ordering groceries online is convenience (46 percent), while less than 10 percent of people reported health concerns as the primary motivation, according to the 2022 Online Grocery Usership survey by Chicory, a CPG/grocery digital commerce platform.
In fact, the survey suggests that online shopping is more popular now than it was at the height of the pandemic, as 72 percent of those surveyed reported having purchased groceries online in the past 90 days.
Online produce purchases fared well, as when asked, “What is most likely to make up most of your online shopping cart?” fruits and vegetables were at 16.6 percent, ahead of household goods and specialty items.
The top online grocery retailer was Walmart, followed by Amazon. Third was Instacart, which was impressive for the delivery service as it has no brick-and-mortar locations.
Walmart was most popular with 45-60 year olds, while Instacart was tops among the 18-29 age group.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the survey is that the online shopper is willing to spend more money, more frequently.