Just 4% of Americans Are Grocery Shopping Online Weekly

A new Gallup poll finds that consumers shop online for groceries at similar rates across income levels and age groups.

Nine percent of U.S. adults report their household orders groceries online for pickup or delivery at least once a month. 

Gallup last asked Americans about their weekly food spending in 2012. At that time, the median expenditure per U.S. household on food was $125 a week. Since then, Americans' weekly spending on food has remained stable, with a median of $130 in 2017. The Department of Agriculture reports food costs rose about 6% between 2012 and 2016. 

Gallup says that shopping for groceries online has a long way to go before it catches on with the vast majority of consumers, who mostly do their grocery shopping in person. But they say that it may change, and I would suggest that change will come quickly as Amazon Fresh starts using Whole Foods as depots to deliver better quality meats and produce. Gallup also suggests that the traditional grocery business may be in a situation similar to that of department stores, with more retail space than the market can sustain. Traditional grocery stores may find their market share continuing to erode because of changing shopping patterns, particularly online shopping, and may be forced to maintain viability by cutting costs and reducing service.

We believe that click & collect will have a far better chance of achieving the 20% share and $100 billion in sales that the FMI predicted over delivery.